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We’ll give you an insider’s view of life and growing on the farm. Share the excitement of a great harvest and experience the disappointment of a crop failure.
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Summer Sale-- Cherry Tomatoes and Plum/Saladette Tomatoes



Totally Tomatoes!

Attack of the Tomatoes— Summer Sale!

Available until 12midnight only.

The weather was perfect for ripening tomatoes! We have a bounty of cherry tomatoes and plum/saladette tomatoes just waiting for your salad, freezer, roaster, dehydrator, blender…fill in the blank!. Order now! Delivery tomorrow.

Get ’em while they are here…all too soon gone in the Great White North.

Head to The Market and find your cherry tomato or plum/saladette tomato options in the SALE section.

(Open until 12midnight only; taking add-on/last-minute orders for the cherry and plum tomatoes only.)

Delivery tomorrow to your chosen dropsite, like usual.

Have a wonderful week, and have fun putting them up or munching them down.

Roger and Lara


Online Market is OPEN for Business (Week 36)


Aren’t they just gorgeous? This is how I enjoy my tomatoes.

Life on the Farm (Week 36)

Well, putting it all up is in full swing. Soups to can, snacks to dehydrate, cukes to pickle, salsas to process. I have a 3 gallon bin of “Clausen knock-off” fermented dill pickles bubbling away in the pantry as we speak. My first trial with fermenting. If the recipe is true to form, and I get my “Clausen Dills”, I will be ecstatic! I love those crisp, salty, tangy deli dills. I’ll keep ya’ll posted. Maybe I’ll get the nerve to ferment some cabbage next week for sauerkraut; love it on Tofurky Beer Brats and fresh made buns.

I know I am always complaining about the deer…but, they are a lot to complain about. The latest is the eating of ripening watermelon. Yes, they bite right into the big melon.

How do their little mouths do it?

Thus far honeydew and cantaloupe have escaped, but I am sure that is not going to last. The trial of edemame is probably over (mowed down this week by the critters) and the fall peas…well probably history. 200 feet of both…sad to see. How much does that 10ft high fence cost again?

Safety in numbers?

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

Coleslaw is easy to make even if you don’t follow the recipes to the letter. The creamy, sweet, tangy, crunch can be a traditional side-salad, a southern traditional hot sandwich topper or a quick lunch meal on the go.

Creamy Coleslaw

1 cup Veganaise or Nayonaise
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp maple syrup or sugar
1 Tbsp celery seed, grind a bit in a mortar and pestle to soften seeds
1 small onion or shallot, minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 # shredded cabbage
1 pepper, sweet (bell, banana, paprika), fine slice or chop
1 cup red cabbage (optional), shredded
1 carrot, grated (optional)

Whisk first 7 ingredients together. Fold into shredded veggies. Season with salt and pepper as needed.


This classic Hungarian stew makes its own liquid as it cooks. Be sure to use sweet Hungarian paprika for the best flavor and color. Serve over bite-sized pasta (bowties, or other similar) or mashed potatoes.

Paprikash

2 lb wheatmeat/seitan (Whitewave brand), ripped into bite-sized pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into thin strips
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into thin strips
4 Tbsp paprika (substitute: 3 fresh paprika pepper, minced)
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine or vegetable stock
1 lb paste tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup sour Supreme (Tofutti brand)
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Season the wheatmeat liberally with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large pot and, working in batches, lightly brown the wheatmeat on all sides. Remove to a plate and sauté the onions in the same pot until tender but not browned, about 5 minutes.

Add the peppers and sauté another 5 minutes.

Add the paprika and flour and stir until the paprika becomes fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the wine and stir to scrape up the brown bits in the bottom of the pan.

Stir in the tomatoes and return the wheatmeat to the pan.

Simmer tightly covered over low heat or bake in a 300F (150C) oven until cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Place the SourSupreme in a small bowl and stir into it some of the liquid from the pot. Add the mixture back to the pot and stir to mix well. Serve garnished with chopped parsley.


Simple, beautiful, and fresh.

Tomatoes on Filo

1 packet filo pastry
4-6 tomatoes, sliced ¼"
1-2 green onion, sliced
Good olive oil
Salt and pepper
Fresh parsley and oregano, chopped

Coat an ovenproof dish with some olive oil.

Open the packet of filo pastry. Take out a layer at a time and wrinkle it loosely on the pan, as artistically as you like. Repeat with a sheet at a time until you cover up the dish. Lightly brush the top with olive oil.

Arrange the sliced tomatoes, overlapping on top of the pastry keeping the edges exposed.

Sprinkle the spring onions on top.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley and fresh oregano.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Drizzle with olive oil.

Bake in a preheated oven 350F for 10 minutes or until the pastry turns golden. Watch it closely, as it burns easily.

Adapted from: http://goodfoodeveryday.wordpress.com/


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…

The Twin Cities Veg Fest is coming to town in September. I am going to enjoy the food, because I am going to enjoy the food! Come have some fun and eat some good, legal food with us.

Sunday, September 28, 2014 from 10 am to 4 pm
Coffman Memorial Union at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus

Subscription Box Highlights

Anticipated this week for the CSA/Subscription Boxes:

Tomatoes
Summer squash
Zucchini
Cucumbers
Sweet peppers
Kale
Cabbage
Onions
Garlic chives
Basil

Start your meal planning now!

We hope to feed you soon!

Roger and Lara



**If you’d like to stop receiving emails, just jump into your account on the website (farmwlig.locallygrown.net, My Account) and scroll to bottom; check appropriate box.

CSA Produce Subscription Distribution -- Week 35


Your box for Week 35

Farm Where Life is Good

Produce Subscription (Week 35)

How is everyone doing? The summer bounty is here…have you noticed yet? We hope you are enjoying the cooking and the eating. I am an Italian drunk on noodles right now! (It will make sense below…)

A little pink petunia amoungst the winter squash.


Your boxes will be in their respective drop site locations by 9am Wednesday. (Dropsite Location Details) Find the box with your name and have at it!

If you have any questions, please call Roger on his delivery phone 626 488 5437 (if before 10a) and the farm phone 715 426 7582 (if after 10am).

Twenty-four pounds in your boxes this week; use caution, lift from below and bend your knees!

Chard , rainbow

Tomato, cherry variety

Tomato, saladette

Tomato, red slicer variety Sorry, photography will not due justice in distinguishing the different types. But, suffice to say, there are 3-4 red varieties, and the little orange guys are Jaune Flamme. See how they go for ya!

Tomato, Black Krim This one we can see the difference by photo. It is a unique one.

Pepper, sweet Crunchy and tangy. Enjoy ’em while they last!

Pepper, Alma paprika (immature) Another variety of paprika pepper; a tad more kick than last week’s. This one is my favorite— white, yellow, orange or red. When they come on strong later in the summer…gasp, it is almost over…they are wonderful to dehydrate and grind to a powder and use on absolutely everything all winter!

Carrot Ooo, maybe there are the ingredients for a standard Midwestern salad this week? Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, carrot…oops, forgot the radish!
Lettuce, red and green summercrisp

Squash, zephyr I discovered a kitchen implement I didn’t know I had; a plastic, handheld mandoline-thing (by Progressive?) that rapidly makes the most beautiful yellow and green communion wafers out of zephyrs and zucchini. Perfect for pizza topping!

Zucchini Have you tried the Zucchini Brownies yet? Have I asked you this yet?

Zucchini, baby striped I’ve gone nutty on the zucchini “boat” theme. Pinterest is dangerous. How about pesto quinoa zucchini boats, or taco zucchini boats, or eggplant “parmezan” zucchini boats (see below)

Cucumber, slicers

Cucumber, lunchbox

Cucumber, Little Potato, True Lemon, Crystal Apple and/or Mini-white

Broccoli OR
Broccolini

Onions, white and Walla walla

Pepper, hot (El Jefe Jalapeno) And one hot fella. We cut back on these spicy things for lack of interest. But maybe just one at a time for some seasoning?

Parsley

Cilantro

Recipes for your consideration

I spend my life adapting recipes to accommodate strict vegetarian eating; so you may have noticed my recipes are a bit interesting. I haven’t converted them back because I like what I make, as it is. Please adapt them to your way of eating as you see fit. This one gets a squirrely name because I can’t legally steal the name of a cheese town in Italy without concern for the EU coming to get me!¬

Eggplant Parmeezian Zucchini Boat

4 medium zucchini, washed and stem end removed
1 medium eggplant, peeled (or not if thin skinned) and diced
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup + 4 tablespoons grated parmeezian-flavor vegan topping (Galaxy Foods; this is taste-tested as the best by me!)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 cup almond meal (or breadcrumbs)

Marinara sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup onion, diced
2 cup tomatoes, diced
1-2 cloves garlic
1 tsp oregano
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp maple syrup/brown sugar

Sauté onion in olive oil until soft; add tomatoes, garlic and oregano and simmer uncoverd on low while you prepare the boats. Add maple syrup/brown sugar after it is as thick as you want it and have removed from heat.

Preheat oven to 350°F and place a rack in the middle. Line a baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook zucchini for 5 minutes until just tender. Drain and set aside to cool.

In the meantime, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat, add onion, salt and sauté for 5 minutes until translucent.

Finally add eggplant cubes and sauté – stirring every now and then – until browned and soft, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add garlic and mix well.

Slice the zucchini in half and scrape out the fillings with a spoon or melon-baller. Add ¾ cup zucchini flesh to your eggplant concoction. Save remaining for squash soup or making stock/broth.

Transfer to a large bowl and puree/mash with an immersion blender (you can also use a food processor or a blender to do this.)

Add grated parmeezian topping, parsley, black pepper and nutritional yeast and stir until well combined.

Add almond meal (or breadcrumbs) ¼ cup at a time and mix with your hands until it reaches a firm consistency (you might need to use more or less almond meal). Set aside.

Arrange zucchini boats on the lined baking dish, drizzle with remaining tablespoon of olive oil and brush to coat.

Fill the hollowed zucchini boats with a spoonful of marinara sauce and top with eggplant mixture, spoons and fingers.

Sprinkle with grated parmeezian topping and bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes until golden.

Adapted from: www.theironyou.com


This is just an excuse to eat lots of noodles, tomatoes and peppers. Love it!¬

Italian “Drunken” Noodles

2 Tbsp Olive oil
4 Tofurky Italian sausage, diced
1 large onion, quartered and sliced thinly
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning (or combo of oregano, basil, thyme, parsley)
½ tsp cracked black pepper
3 sweet peppers, cored and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
½ cup white wine
3 cups tomatoes, diced
2 Tbsp parsley, chopped
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, julienned, divided use
8 ounces Pappardelle noodles, uncooked (wide flat pasta noodles; lasagna noodles would work, but when cooked, slice them lengthwise in ½ or 1/3.)

Place a large, heavy-bottom pan or braising pot over medium heat; add olive oil and onion and stir/sauté until browning.

Add the salt, Italian seasoning and cracked black pepper, and stir to combine. Add sliced bell peppers, and allow those to sauté with the onion for about 2 minutes until slightly tender.

Add garlic, and once it becomes aromatic, add in the white wine and allow it to reduce for a few moments, until almost completely reduced.

Add diced tomatoes with their juice and diced Tofurky sausage, and gently fold the mixture to combine; allow it to gently simmer for about 3-4 minutes to blend the flavors, then turn the heat off; to finish the sauce, drizzle in about 1-2 Tbsp olive oil, add in the chopped parsley and half of the julienned basil; stir, and keep warm while you prepare the noodles.

Prepare the pappardelle noodles according to instructions on package.

Drain the noodles very well, and add them directly into the sauce, using tongs to gently toss and combine the pappardelle noodles with the sauce.

Serve garnished with remaining basil, grated parmezan-flavor vegan topping (Galaxy Foods), and/or chopped parsley.


The origin of this is at the Beirut Restaurant in St Paul. You must go, and you must order Veggie #4. Combo platter with eggplant stew and falafel. I am forever trying to reverse engineer the eggplant stew. This is my latest.

Eggplant Tomato Onion Stew

1 eggplant (medium, unpeeled and diced)
6 paste/saladette tomatoes (sliced)
1 onion (sliced)
1 tsp cumin powder
1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1/2 cup water

In a large saucepan or skillet, add cumin, sea salt, cayenne (optional) and black pepper and water and stir well.

Add the vegetables; bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook for 20 – 25 minutes or until the eggplant are tender.

Serve plain or over quinoa, rice or your favorite grain.


Everyone feel free to add your favorite recipes to the website.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Have any of you seen Craftsy online? It is apparently (I am just beginning to explore it) an educational venue with videos for learning a whole host of things.

My first foray is into a free Knife Skills course. Very much worth your time if you want to optimize your time spent cooking.

Have a look-see.

Have a wonderful week, and enjoy the vegetables.

Roger and Lara


Online Market is OPEN for Business (Week 35)


What is it we do with these again? (Rog contamplating Zephyr squash)

Life on the Farm (Week 35)

We are in a race between the weather and the winter squash! The plants are beautiful, the beds and rows are nicely weed-free with a clover interplanted covercrop sprouting, and the squash beetles are nowhere to be seen. Cucumber beetles have found the blossoms, but we are hoping that is just flower cosmetics. So if the weather holds out, and the first frost is late, we may be looking at a good harvest of winter squash this year.

No weeds, just nitrogen-fixing clover! Yay!

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

Sometimes a sub-sandwich or wrap-sandwich just needs a little pizzaz. 3-4 slices of pickled peppers is just the key. And being a capsaicin (i.e. (E)-N-(4-Hydroxy-3-methoxybenzyl) -8-methylnon-6-enamide, trans-8-Methyl-N-vanillylnon -6-enamide) wimp, I need the sweet ones to start with. So, I sneak only a little bit of fire in these beauties!

Pickled Peppers

11 cups peppers, sliced ¼" (seeded or not)
—options include combinations of sweet or hot; banana, jalapeno, serrano, paprika, peperoncino, habanero
6 cups white vinegar
2 cup water
3 cloves garlic, crushed

Prepare your jars, lids and rings.
In large glass or stainless steel bowl, combine peppers and set aside.
In large stainless steel sauce pan, combine vinegar, water and garlic. Bring to boil, reduce and simmer for 5-8 minutes until garlic has infused liquid.
Pack peppers into ½" head space, covering peppers.
Wipe rim, place lid and rings on and tighten.
Place jars in steam canner, and immerse insuring covered with at least 1" water.
Bring to boil, process 10 minutes.
Remove canner lid, waiting 5 minutes. Remove jars to counter and allow to seal 24hrs.
Remove rings, confirm sealed and store.


A bit of a twist on the fresh summer soup, Gazpacho. Take a trip to the Greek isles!

Greek Gazpacho

2 thick slices day-old bread, such as ciabatta or peasant white, crusts removed
6 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp freshly chopped oregano leaves
2 Tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
5 Tbsp red wine vinegar
5 Tbsp good olive oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded chopped
1 orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 red onions, chopped
1 seedless cucumber, unpeeled, and chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped
3/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1 1/2 lb tomatoes, pureed (approx 6 tomatoes)
4 tsp sea salt
2 tsp ground black pepper

Place the bread, garlic, oregano, and parsley in a food processor and process until everything is finely chopped. Add the vinegar and olive oil and process again until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.

Place the peppers, red onion, cucumbers, tomatoes, and olives separately in the food processor and process until very coarsely chopped. Add to the mixing bowl.

Add the tomato puree, salt, and pepper and stir well. Taste for seasoning, cover, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Serve cold.


Light tomato soup with pasta to add body. Refreshing and simple. You will want to double this for leftovers!!

Sopa de Fideo (South of the Border Tomato Noodle Soup)

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 medium tomatoes, diced
2-5 garlic cloves, minced
7 oz fideo pasta or broken angelhair pasta (less or more as you desire)
4 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
tortilla chips, crushed

Sauté onion in olive oil over low heat until soft. Add tomatoes and garlic and simmer until tomatoes are soft/dissolving.

Meanwhile, toast pasta in 2 Tbsp olive oil until just seeing color change.

Add broth and tomatoes to pasta; bring to boil and simmer until pasta cooked thru (approx 4min.)

Remove from heat; stir in cilantro. Top with crushed tortilla chips and serve.


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

Did You Know…

The next generations are the future of agriculture. (Well, of course you did, but maybe the significance of that has yet to come to the fore.) Will they be stewards or users of the land? Now is the time to cultivate (pun intended!) the ethic that will guide their choices in careers, eating habits and social endeavors. This Parent and Teacher Curriculum Guide is a canned (another pun!) program to help parents and teachers enter the realm of growing food with their kids/charges.

See what you think and pass it on.

Subscription Box Highlights

Anticipated this week for the CSA/Subscription Boxes:

Tomatoes
Carrots
Summer squash/Zucchini
Cucumbers
Sweet peppers
Eggplant
Broccoli
Chard
Onions
Jalapeno pepper
Cilantro
Parsley

Start your meal planning now!

We hope to feed you soon!

Roger and Lara



**If you’d like to stop receiving emails, just jump into your account on the website (farmwlig.locallygrown.net, My Account) and scroll to bottom; check appropriate box.

CSA Produce Subscription Distribution -- Week 34


Your box for Week 34

Farm Where Life is Good

Produce Subscription (Week 34)

Well, we took away the field full of flowers from the various pollinators. Mean farmers! The front section is going from buckwheat (now all flail-mowed) into rye and vetch. Lots of nitrogen to fix and humus to make. Those two will sprout a bit, then go dormant thru the winter to come back strong for a spring cutting. Then we’ll put the field in heavy feeding produce…like peppers or potatoes or tomatillos or the like.

I spy the Dazs-le dog.

Oh, and we are officially out of boxes. So, if you have squirreled some away somewhere, please bring it/them back to the dropsite. We will need to go buy more if they don’t show back up this week. It gets spendy.


Your boxes will be in their respective drop site locations by 9am Wednesday. (Dropsite Location Details) Find the box with your name and have at it!

If you have any questions, please call Roger on his delivery phone 626 488 5437 (if before 10a) and the farm phone 715 426 7582 (if after 10am).

The rainbow continues in your boxes this week.

Tomato, cherry, saladette and slicer sampler Day by day they keep pinking up! Enjoy the new additions.

Pepper, sweet Some greens for a nice BBQ sauce. See below for my grandmother’s recipe…simple and love it!

Pepper, Feher Ozon paprika (immature) We included one of these young peppers to give you a sampling. They take forever to mature, so I start eating them early! They do wonders to a tofu scramble, I have to say.

Potato, Red Gold These are a new variety for us. Poor yield this year, but I do like the way they cook up.

Lettuce mix A little bit of mix to tide us over until the heads start coming along.

Cabbage, Tendersweet This cabbage is different, I have to say. “Tender” is indeed a good descriptor, and juicy too. Great for coleslaw, no waiting required, it serves up well right after preparation.

Beans, wax The last of the beans for awhile; the hot and dry weather came at a bad time in their maturation; I hope they are tender enough…

Squash, zephyr How about some minestrone to use up those squash?

Zucchini Tossed in another 12" fella for some zucchini baking; you have got to try the zucchini brownies …I am in love! (I didn’t frost them…and I made them with ½ maple syrup and heavy on the cocoa powder. Holy cow they are moist and delicious!) Trust me…double the recipe!

Zucchini, baby striped A couple for a pizza-boat lunchbox make-ahead.

Cucumber, slicers Both “Corinto (bumpy)” and “Diva (smooth)” varieties…anyone have a preference?

Cucumber, lunchbox Try this hummus for a personal cucumber dipper… Ultimate Hummus

Cucumber, Little Potato, True Lemon, Crystal Apple and/or Mini-white They sure do all taste different, don’t they. I think I like the mini-whites the best, with apple coming in second. What are your favorites?

Onions, white and Walla walla More of the same; the remaining harvest is coming out of the field this week.

Garlic, Music variety “Sweet, pungent flavor” they say…

Oregano A fresh pasta sauce is in the offing this week, I bet.

Thyme Great addition to scalloped potatoes or tomato soup.

Recipes for your consideration

My favorite over rice or mashed potatoes, from my grandmother’s kitchen. Tangy, rich flavor; easy to toss together.¬

Nana’s Western Style Barbeque Wheatmeat

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 green pepper, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp veggie Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp red pepper, ground (or minced fresh hot pepper)
1 tsp black pepper, ground
2 tsp ground chili pepper
1 tsp paprika
3/4 cup catsup/ketchup, yours or Heinz
3/4 cup water
1 lb seitan/ “wheat meat” chicken-style

Combine all ingredients and simmer 30-45 minutes. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes

From: Source: Nana Heinz’ kitchen


This is a weekend favorite, either for breakfast or dinner. It packs away lots of vegetables and has such a rich diversity of flavors it satisfies the palate.¬

Savory Scramble

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 sweet pepper, diced (paprika peppers work nicely)
1 squash/zucchini, sliced or diced
1 tomato, diced
1-2 other vegetables as you please (kale, broccoli, carrot, cauliflower, green bean, mushrooms etc. Add to sauté early if a dense vegetable.
1# extra-firm tofu, crumbled (just squish it in your fists; cooking is fun!)

½ cup soy milk, unflavored
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground paprika
1 tsp ground tumeric
1 Tbsp fresh or dried parsley
1-2 sprigs fresh oregano, minced (or 1 tsp dried)
4-5 sprigs fresh thyme, stripped from stem (or ½ tsp dried)
2 cloves garlic, pressed/minced

Start the sauté with olive oil and onions on medium heat, then add peppers, then squash, then tomato, then other veggies, then tofu.

Meanwhile, mix the soy milk and herbs/spices in a small bowl.

Once the veggies are cooked to your liking, add the seasoning liquid the pan and stir well to coat. Allow to heat thru for 3-4 minutes on medium.

Serve warm with toast and maybe a patty or two of GimmeLean sausage.


Everyone feel free to add your favorite recipes to the website.

For Your Reading Pleasure

The No Recipe Cookbook: A beginners guide to the art of cooking
by Susan Crowther

I saw this book in our local town co-op grocer; it caught my eye because the title is generally how I cook. As I flipped thru, then started reading thru, I really liked her approach. It is a bit of story-telling, a bit of how-to-stock-your-pantry, and a bit of kitchen wisdom on the little things that make a dish/meal successful.

If you want to navigate away from hard-and-fast recipe reading, give this book a read. It may help you cut the umbilical cord that ties many to strict recipes, and may give you the freedom to “toss” together dinner with just your palate to guide you. “Hmm, what am I hungry for tonight? Maybe something with cumin or oregano or tomato or corn…” You’ll probably make some duds, I do for sure, but I like the freedom this book gives you.

See what you think.

Farm News

It was a beautiful day for harvest today. What a sky! Hard to stay focused on the tasks at hand. :) Weather was perfect, no bugs to contend with, ground was damp from the rain so kneeling was not an act of torture. But, the rain yesterday sure did feed the weeds. Ok, it fed all of the other stuff too, so we are happy on balance.

Take a look at that sky. Love it.

We remain quite pleased with the warm-season produce progress in the high tunnel. Knock wood…not to jinx ourselves. The pruning of the tomatoes and cucumbers has remained on track (pat the back and thanks to MP volunteering.) The cucumbers are growing in an umbrella-trellis system, with one leader going up and then two leaders coming back down after flipping over the top wire. The tomatoes are growing with a two leader system with both stems growing up until they are unreachable, then we “lower and lean” the spool and plant so it coils on the ground. (Well, that is the hope. Sometimes they just sag and crack!) Kinda fun to push these plants into weird growing patterns and yet keep them happy. Oddly enough, pruning off all lower leaves (up to the fruit node) is ideal and keeps disease at bay. I have fun hacking and slashing each week, knowing it is all for a good cause!

The high tunnel is filling up; this is a no-passing zone.

Have a wonderful week, and enjoy the vegetables.

Roger and Lara


Online Market is OPEN for Business (Week 34)


The combine ready to go to work

Life on the Farm (Week 34)

Well, the wheat harvest is in. Whew! Pretty excited about it; we grew some good grain! Once we get things figured out with this new addition, we will have some wheat options available in the market. Hoping for wheat berries (hot cereal), flour, wheat bran.

Lots and lots of local wheat!

We have a big day ahead of harvesting cukes, zukes, and broccs, seeding the last of the field items (before switching to high tunnel plantings), feeding the brassicas one last time, coaxing the celery to be more crisp (haven’t perfected this item yet!), and dreaming about the original Sunday designation as “The Day of Rest”. :) Who thought of that anyway? Whimps!

Get your order in for the last of the peach special orders…we are picking up next week.

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 wonderful and simple recipe to take advantage of the moment when all of the summer produce is coming into season. It is flexible enough to be used as a stand-alone or a side. If you haven’t tried polenta, you should!

Calabacitas

2 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups zucchini/yellow squash, ¼" slice or large dice
1 cup corn kernels
1-2 jalapeno, small dice (or small can green chiles)
1 cup fresh tomatoes, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup extrafirm tofu, crumbled and marinated in ¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp chili powder, salt/pepper
½ cup cilantro, chopped

Sauté onion in oil over medium heat until soft. Add peppers, garlic, zucchini, corn, jalapeno and tomatoes. Mix well and cover to simmer 10min until squash is tender.

Season with salt and pepper as desired.

Add marinated tofu and cilantro, mix and warm thru.

Serve as a side dish, burrito/taco filling, over prepared polenta.

To make polenta (it’s just “grits, dummy”), you can make a basic recipe (below) and modify how you like. Then either eat it “soft” with foods piled on top like a mound of mashed potatoes, or you can “mold” it and serve it decoratively. The simplest way to prepared the firm polenta is to spread it on a lightly oiled (or parchment papered) baking sheet to a thickness of approximately ½"-1". Let it sit (or refrigerate to hurry it up); then cut into a shape you like. Serve as-is or grill for some decorative grill stripes.

You can make variations sweet and cinnamon-y… or garlic-y… or spicy-y. Sky’s the limit; it’s a great staple if you like corn.

3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cups corn grits
1 tablespoons margarine

Bring the water and salt to a boil in a large pot. Add the corn grits in a thin stream stirring until well mixed (don’t just dump in; you’ll get lumps!) Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is very thick.

Remove from heat. Stir the margarine (and any variations) into the corn grits until combined. Serve “soft” or spread on prepared baking sheet for the “firm” variant.

Variations: minced fresh garlic, parmesan-flavored vegan sprinkles, nutritional yeast, fresh herbs, cumin/chili powder/paprika, cinnamon/nutmeg/maple syrup


With all of the cucumbers, I couldn’t pass on falafels. We had a great dinner of them last night. I cheated and used a box-mix that I found hidden on a back shelf (it was late!), but here is a recipe I have used before. Spice variations abound, so I have included some suggestions.)

Kale falafel

4 cups stemmed and torn kale or Swiss chard
1- 15.5 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
(or 2 cups dried chick peas soaked in water 24hrs)
3 medium to large cloves garlic, chopped
1.5 Tbsp tahini
1.5 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp cumin
sea salt and black pepper
3-4 Tbsp oat flour
~ 4 Tbsp high-heat oil for cooking
Other seasonings: fresh parsley, coriander, fresh cilantro, onion/scallions. Add to food processor with other ingredients.

Add kale, chickpeas, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, cumin, and a healthy pinch each salt and pepper to a food processor and mix to combine

Once well incorporated, transfer to a mixing bowl and stir in oat flour 1 Tbsp at a time until the mixture is thick enough to handle – about 3-4 Tbsp.

Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. More salt, pepper and lemon juice, and a touch more tahini?

Heat a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat and add 2 Tbsp oil at a time. Swirl to coat pan.

Add falafel (however many will fit very comfortably) to the pan.

Check at the 1-2 minute mark to ensure they’re not browning too quickly. If they are, slightly reduce heat. Flip once deep golden brown – about 3-4 minutes.

Cook until the underside is golden brown as well.

Serve immediately with hummus and paprika, or inside a pita or wrap with creamy cucumbers & dill

Will store in the fridge, layered with parchment paper in an airtight container, for several days. Freeze to keep longer.

Adapted from: minimalistbaker.com

Creamy cucumbers and dill
1 tub Sour Supreme by Tofutti
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 scallion, minced
2-3 Tbsp fresh dill, fine chopped
2 sprigs fresh parsley, fine chopped
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp black pepper
4 cucumbers, diced

Mix all ingredients together and let sit for 10-15min for flavors to merge.

Fill tortilla/wrap or pita pocket with cucumbers, top/stuff with 2-4 falafel patties. Enjoy!!!


Another polenta option; savory with sun-dried tomatoes (hey, they are easy to make on your own too!)

Kale, Sun-dried Tomatoes & Garbanzo Beans with Polenta

1 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 bunch of kale, stems removed and leaves coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped oil-packed sun dried tomatoes
1 can chick peas (or garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained (or cook your own)
a pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add chick peas and sauté for a minute or two.

Add the kale, the garlic and sun dried tomatoes to the skillet. Stir over medium heat until the kale is bright and tender, approximately 5-10 minutes.

Add the white wine vinegar, salt and pepper and stir for another minute.

Remove from heat and serve over slices (or “soft” bowl) of nutritional yeast & garlic-spiced polenta.


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

Subscription Box Highlights

Anticipated this week for the CSA/Subscription Boxes:

Tomatoes
Summer squash/Zucchini
Cucumbers
Sweet peppers
Cabbage
Wax beans
Potatoes
Lettuce mix
Onions
Garlic
Oregano
Thyme

Start your meal planning now!

We hope to feed you soon!

Roger and Lara



**If you’d like to stop receiving emails, just jump into your account on the website (farmwlig.locallygrown.net, My Account) and scroll to bottom; check appropriate box.

CSA Produce Subscription Distribution -- Week 33


Your box for Week 33

Farm Where Life is Good

Produce Subscription (Week 33)

We apparently stumped everyone with the Flower of the Week. No tomato prizes to distribute. It was the…drumroll… Fava Bean flower. It does have the characteristic legume-type flower, but black on white seems quite unique in the flower world. I can’t think of another example… Anyway, fava beans are trialing this year; we’ll see how they produce and what they taste like. I ate a young one and made a face only a mother could love. I’ll give them some time…

A couple of fava beans growing up and hanging out.

We’re getting short on boxes. Please bring all wayward boxes back this week. Reduce – Reuse – Recycle (thanks!)


Your boxes will be in their respective drop site locations by 9am Wednesday. (Dropsite Location Details) Find the box with your name and have at it!

If you have any questions, please call Roger on his delivery phone 626 488 5437 (if before 10a) and the farm phone 715 426 7582 (if after 10am).

The color has officially arrived in your boxes this week.

Tomato, cherry and slicer sampler A small taste; they are coming right along. We have multiple varieties growing, so if you come upon a favorite, describe it for us, and we will try to honor the request each week.

Pepper, sweet Oh, how I’ve missed peppers! You too? Well, they are here for awhile. Early green bells and some purple Islanders; more varieties coming online next week I am sure.

Cabbage, green Really nice heads of the “Tendersweet” variety with a slightly flattened profile. Very nice for fresh salads. Keeps well in the fridge

Cabbage (Napa) Had to take these fellas early due to pest pressure; sorry for doubling up on cabbage varieties.

Carrot Here are some little fellas for snacking or cooking up after a brief scrub.

Beans, wax The beans continue to produce. I have 20 meals in the freezer, dreams about some dilly beans magically appearing in jars, and the folks in the old-folks-home in River Falls are enjoying some this week. They are good stuff, Maynard.

Squash, zephyr Many ways to eat ‘em. Don’t be like Roger as a little kid and chuck them at your neighbor’s roof…

Zucchini If you like olives, try a light sauté with a clove of garlic and a handful of chopped green olives. Amazingly good.

Zucchini, baby striped Halved, carved out a little and stuffed with something tasty then baked. Mmm, I think that might just be dinner.

Cucumber, slicers Two varieties from the hightunnel; they continue to be strong despite the arrival of the cucumber beetles and their wilting viruses.

Cucumber, lunchbox A handful for the lunchbox this week.

Cucumber, Little Potato, True Lemon, Crystal Apple and/or Mini-white

Broccoli More of it. You liking it?

Broccolini I’m craving the Garlic Sesame Aoili again. Have you tried it yet? Perfect little bunch for dipping after a light steaming.

Onions, white and Walla walla See what you think of the Walla walla; we haven’t tried them since we harvested. Onions are a fussy bunch, with flavor as much dependent upon the temperature, water, soil, etc. as the variety, so not sure if they will compare to the famous Washington sweet onion, but here’s the FarmWLIG attempt anyway.

Garlic, Keeper variety A Creole type hardneck garlic with plump cloves and long storage. Keeper is memorably spicy, with a pungent aroma and matching flavors. The pungency mellows with time and with cooking.

Dill Cucumber and dill pair nicely. How about some Falafel this week! I have to remember to get some pita bread; not in the mood to make THAT!

Basil How about a nice basil pesto over your broccoli this week? A few leaves of basil, a clove or two of garlic, a glug of olive oil, pinch of sea salt and a handful of walnuts in the blender should do the trick.

Recipes for your consideration

This cool dressing/sauce works nicely on a bowl of red beans and rice, poured over a cold couscous and veggie salad, or even served over some delicate ravioli.¬

Cucumber-Dill Dressing/Sauce

1 cup cucumber, peeled and rough chopped
½ cup tofu, silken
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice or seasoned rice vinegar
2 Tbsp sweet white miso
1 scallion, sliced
1 Tbsp fresh dillweed, chopped
¼ tsp sea salt

Combine all in blender; process until smooth and creamy.

From: The Saucy Vegetarian by Joanne Stepaniak


Try this over a chilled salad of steamed beans, carrots with chopped cherry tomatoes and diced cucumbers. Many flavors to incite the palate.¬

Glorious Green Olive Dip & Dressing

¾ cup tofu, silken
¼ cup lightly packed basil leaves
3 pitted green olives
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice or seasoned rice vinegar
2 tsp nutritional yeast
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove crushed garlic
¼ tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil

Combine all except olive oil in a blender; process until smooth. With the blender running, drizzle the olive oil in slowly.

From: The Saucy Vegetarian by Joanne Stepaniak


Here’s a twist on rolled lasagna, Asian-style. A bit of fussing to set them up, but then into a pan and out of sight and mind while baking. Low fat, high flavor!¬

Asian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Here’s a twist on rolled lasagna, Asian-style. A bit of fussing to set them up, but then into a pan and out of sight and mind while baking. Low fat, high flavor!

1# marinated tofu
1 cup carrots, shredded
1 cup cooked brown rice
4-5 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 tablespoons ginger, finely minced or grated on a microplane zester
1 small onion, minced
3 tablespoons tamari (or soy sauce)
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 – 2 splashes rice vinegar
1 teaspoon chili sauce or pinch red pepper flakes, optional
salt and pepper, to taste
leaves from 1 head of Napa cabbage

For Ginger Garlic Tofu Marinade:
½ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons brown sugar or maple syrup
3 garlic cloves, minced
1# tofu, pressed/dried and diced ¼"

Mix all ingredients for marinade and add tofu cubes; refrigerate for 2hrs.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, prepare your filling by combing your tofu, carrots, rice, garlic, ginger, onion, tamari, sesame oil, chili sauce or red pepper flakes (optional) and a pinch of salt and black pepper.

Take the leaves from your cabbage and roll with a rolling pin to make leaves more pliable.

Add filling to your leaves and tightly and carefully roll up and place side by side in a large baking dish.

Pour 1 cup of water over cabbage and cover with aluminum foil. Bake in your preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes or until completely cooked through. Serve with juices from baking dish and additional chili sauce.

Time saving tip: Prepare rolls ahead of time (without water) and refrigerate until ready for baking.

From: babble.com


Everyone feel free to add your favorite recipes to the website.

Farm News

I was stung by a pesky wasp today while harvesting peppers in the hightunnel. They have set up shop in all of the holes and cracks. I felt a potent jab, swung around and saw him going “nah, nah, na, nah, nah” and sticking his tongue out at me while guarding his little hole. Creep. They hurt!

I like the gentle bumbles better.

The tomatoes are coming in. The cucumber continue to roll. Peppers are getting top-heavy. All good signs. Our trusty family volunteer has found many carrots amoungst the weeds, so there is hope for the orange. Main season potatoes are getting close; Rog isn’t looking forward to that back-breaking harvest! The deer continue to run roughshod over the farm. The boys just finished loading the boxes into the cooler for the night, so all is good. The sun still shines, and I have a chance at a proper farm dinner tonight! (Cue violins…)

Have a wonderful week, and enjoy the vegetables.

Roger and Lara


Online Market is OPEN for Business (Week 33)


A prize of the First Tomatoes of the Season to whomever can NAME THAT FLOWER (be specific now…)

Life on the Farm (Week 33)

The potato beetles have been so prolific this year that the first generation is now into its second generation and these new young adults are a bit spacey. We are finding them in the weirdest spots.

Wayward Colorado Potato Beetle wandering Cucumber Trellis

Great news…the tomatoes are starting to turn. Hoping for a snack-ful for the subscription boxes this week. The plants all look great; no disease to speak of yet (knock wood) and no pests have invaded yet either (double knock wood). The greenery to fruit ratio seems appropriate. Pollination seems even and well represented on each sprig. We have many different varieties this year, for the tomato-philes in the audience.

Last transplants “hardening off” in the shade

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

Ok, so not really healthful, but ya just gotta splurge sometimes! And if ya gotta do it, do it with squash!!!

Zucchini Brownies

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded zucchini
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Frosting (optional)
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup margarine
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9×13 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in the zucchini and walnuts. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until brownies spring back when gently touched.

To make the frosting, melt together the 6 tablespoons of cocoa and margarine; set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, blend together the confectioners’ sugar, milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in the cocoa mixture. Spread over cooled brownies before cutting into squares.

From: Allrecipes.com


You’ll notice a theme in this recipe section…. So after you have eaten your zucchini and summer squash in your dessert, now you can have them in your dinner! We’ve had these two ways— shredded and sliced. Shredded works nicely in large volumes in a burrito presentation, and the sliced works well in the smaller soft taco approach. See what you think.

Mexican Squash Filling (for Burritos and/or Tacos)

3-4 zucchini and/or summer squash

1 onion, diced, sautéed (optional)
1 Tbsp flour or corn starch
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp dried/crushed oregano

Shred the squash or half-moon slice the squash, depending on your serving preferences.

Combine dry ingredients and 3/4 cup water. Bring everything to a boil, add squash, then reduce heat, and simmer covered for 5-10 minutes (shorter for shredded, longer for sliced).

Fill your tortillas and top with cilantro rice, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado, and all of your favorites.


Aaaaannnnnd, let’s bring it all home with some wacky squash muffins masquerading as apple muffins for breakfast. Cinnamon and brown sugar (or maple) will turn anything into an blissful breakfast experience.

Zapple Muffins

4 cups peeled, seeded and diced zucchini or summer squash

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup margarine (Earth Balance works best)
1 cup white sugar
2 equivalents egg-replacer (Energ brand) or 2 Tbsp ground flax seed +2 Tbsp boiling water
1/4 cup soymilk + ½ tsp apple cider vinegar (mixed)

Combine zucchini and lemon juice in saucepan, bring to boil over medium. Reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 10 min. Add brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20min until slightly thickened. Let cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven 350F. Grease or line 18 muffin cups.

Sift together flour, baking powder and soda, salt and nutmeg in bowl.

Beat together margarine and white sugar in separate large bowl. Add egg-replacer/flax seed and beat.

Beat sugar mixture into flour mixture alternating with soymilk until smooth. Stir in the zapplesauce just until evenly distributed (don’t over-mix).

Fill muffin cups (or greased muffin tins) with very stiff batter. Bake 25-30min until risen and toothpick/knife comes out clean. Cool and serve.


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

Subscription Box Highlights

Anticipated this week for the CSA/Subscription Boxes:

Summer squash/Zucchini
Cucumbers
Sweet peppers
Napa cabbage
Wax beans
Onions, white
Garlic
Basil
Dill

Start your meal planning now!

We hope to feed you soon!

Roger and Lara



**If you’d like to stop receiving emails, just jump into your account on the website (farmwlig.locallygrown.net, My Account) and scroll to bottom; check appropriate box.

CSA Produce Subscription Distribution -- Week 32


Your box for Week 32

Farm Where Life is Good

Produce Subscription (Week 32)

Ok, all of that talk about “they are almost here” complete with squash flowers and then baby squash pictures…well, we jinxed ourselves. We now have 100s of pounds of summer squash. This is the bounty we talk about members getting to share; so do your part, now. We will be distributing 100# of squash per car when you come out here to haul this stuff away!!!!!!

Zephyr squash coming out of our ears!

New items are blooming and fruiting as we speak. Tomatoes are a week or two away; a new variety of “saladette” sized offerings will be showing up, along with the various cherries, slicers and paste. Tomatillos, always a bumble bee favorite for some reason, are setting fruit like crazy. Salsa verde and white bean/tomatillo soup for everyone!!

It’s raining tomatoes…soon.

Pretty little green paper lanterns.


Your boxes will be in their respective drop site locations by 9am Wednesday. (Dropsite Location Details) Find the box with your name and have at it!

If you have any questions, please call Roger on his delivery phone 626 488 5437 (if before 10a) and the farm phone 715 426 7582 (if after 10am).

Lots of color and poundage (21#) in your boxes this week.

Pepper, sweet Just a taste! They are coming right along in the high tunnel and field; nice variety of sweet, just-o-hint, and spicy.

Potatoes, new Another couple pounds of potatoes for a nice potato salad. Get creative with all of the color, crunch and flavor in this week’s box.

Cabbage, red Here’s a tiny red head for slicing very fine and adding color to your daily salads.

Carrot And some shredded carrot for more color in the cucumber salads.

Beans, green There is really nothing like fresh greeners! If you can’t get them on the menu this week, blanch in a pot of boiling water for 3 minutes, drop into a bowl of icewater for a few minutes, drain; pop into a freezer bag in meal-sized batches and savor this winter.

Squash, zephyr Eat your squash— and like it!

Zucchini A couple jumbo sized for stuffing or baking. It also freezes well when shredded and squeezed dry; save for Chocolate Zucchini Waffles this winter! (and some normal sized ones too.)

Zucchini, baby striped A couple of these little striped fellas. Perfect for slicing length-wise, marinating in some olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper and then tossing on the grill for a quick side dish.

Cucumber, slicers A couple varieties of slicers for salads; lots of cucumber salad this week!

Cucumber, lunchbox Snack on these to tide you over to dinner.

Cucumber, Little Potato or True Lemon and/or Mini-white Just starting to see the specialty cukes show up. You will have a sample of either the Little Potato or the True Lemon (camera shy, sorry; round/white w/ pale yellow accents) variety and a Mini-white. Report back what you think.

Broccoli Another pound of the powerhouse greens!

Broccolini And a tight bunch of specialty broccolini for steaming or grilling, and dipping in the incredible Garlic Sesame Aioli.

Lettuce, green summer crisp The end of lettuce for a few weeks.

Onions, white Bulb onions are here. 50% of harvest happening this week, next week the rest. You’ll be getting a sampling of fresh ones (like today, a nice sweet Sierra Blanca) and then later the cured ones that will store a bit.

Onion, green/scallion Packed with onion flavor!

Garlic, Siciliano variety First of the season; this stuff is fresh so quite “sharp” in flavor— a little goes a long way. It is not “cured”, so it won’t last like dried garlic. Keep in the refrigerator. (Siciliano: “It has a rich, deep flavor with a zesty medium pungency and a crisp, crunchy texture that is like a water chestnut with flavor and an attitude. Its richness makes it excellent for raw eating as in pesto and salsa.”)

Cilantro Mmmm, cilantro rice again. (I am a broken record on that stuff!)

Parsley Mince a sprig for each of your cucumber salads; nice fresh flavor enhancement.

Recipes for your consideration

Get the taste of summer in a colorful, fresh potato salad!¬

Summer Garlic Potato Salad

2# potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 sweet bell pepper (green or color), diced
2-4 carrots, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 small cucumber, halved and seeded, diced
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
2 stalks celery, diced (optional)

Dressing:
1 pkg soft silken tofu (make sure it is the “silken type”, common Mori-Nu brand)
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
1-2 cloves garlic
½ tsp sea salt

Set a large pot of water to boil. Add potatoes and cook until just tender (don’t overdo and let them start falling apart.) Drain and let sit until dry.

Prepare vegetables while you wait for the potatoes.

In a blender, add all dressing ingredients (last 6 on the list) and blend on high until well blended and creamy.

Add potatoes to vegetables, toss with dressing and then add salt and pepper. Give a final few stirs to incorporate all.

Refrigerate and serve.


The fresh garlic this week will give this recipe some pizzazz; don’t eat it on a date!¬

Cilantro Pesto

1 cup cilantro
2 Tbsp tahini
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice or seasoned rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp sea salt
1-2 Tbsp water, as needed to thin

Place all ingredients in blender and process until smooth.

Pour over steamed veggies (great on summer squash), potatoes, pasta, or any other combination for a bright, sassy meal.

From: The Saucy Vegetarian by Joanne Stepaniak


I have gone nutty with my newly acquired 2014 hashbrown iron. Summer squash is just the next in line to fall to its clutches. Mmmmm good.¬

Squash hashbrowns

1 pound red potatoes, grated
1 medium yellow squash, grated
1 medium zucchini, grated
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon seasoned salt (see add’l recipe on website, for a make-it-yourself version)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

If you have a food processor, run the potatoes, yellow squash, zucchini through it on the grate setting. If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a box grater to grate the vegetables.

Squeeze the excess moisture from the vegetables. .

Chop onions and mince garlic; add to grated vegetables.

Add the seasoned salt and pepper to the vegetables and stir to thoroughly combine.

Add oil to a largest skillet you have. Spread the hash brown mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan.

Cook over a medium high flame until the bottom is crispy, approximately 4 – 6 minutes. Then flip and cook until the other side is crispy, approximately 4 – 6 minutes.

Notes:
If you have a waffle iron, you can try cooking the grated vegetables in it. Brush or spray with oil. Place 1/2 cup of grated veggies over each square on the waffle maker. Spread evenly over the bottom of the waffle maker, lock the lid down, and cook for 8 – 10 minutes or until the hash browns are crispy and cooked through.

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Carrots, beets, eggplant?!? The possibilities for sneaking veggies into breakfast are endless!

From: http://www.5dollardinners.com


Everyone feel free to add your favorite recipes to the website.

Farm News

Other that the attack-of-the-zephyr-squash, things are progressing well into the warm weather produce. More color coming in too; a nice change from the rainbow of green! We are seeing more pollinators hopping about; it is quite the pleasure to sit and pick with a symphony of buzzes all around you.

Where sci-fi creative imaging comes from



Bumble hanging a BA!

Worker honeybee— note the tattered wings; she is nearing the end of her 6wk lifespan.

Thus end-ith another week of produce. Eat hardy, eat well. Use caution, the boxes are getting heavy. Don’t trust the box handles! Keep a hand on the bottom of the box.

Razz, the day after harvest.

Ok, enough reading. You had better get started eating!

Have a wonderful week, and enjoy the vegetables.

Roger and Lara


Fire Sale-- Last minute orders for 5# wax beans



Bonanza of Wax Beans

Put it Up— Fire Sale!

Available until 12midnight only.

Hate for all of that pickin’ to go to waste! If you are interested in a few hours of freezing or canning and packing away some beans for the winter, order now!

Get ’em while they are here…all too soon gone in the Great White North.

Head to The Market and find your wax bean bundle in the SALE section. (Open until 12midnight only; taking add-on/last-minute orders for the bulk wax beans only.)

Have a wonderful week, and have fun putting them up.

Roger and Lara