This week has been a very busy one as the late spring farm share season opened. June is a transitional month when the cool weather crops begin to end and the summer crops begin to grow faster as the weather (normally) becomes warmer. As a result, this typically brings smaller quantities with more diversity of crops.
If you started your farm share box in early spring, did you notice how the beets started out small and each week become bigger? You will see the same thing occur in the carrots and some other root crops. The first weeks are important to thin the roots so they have room to grow larger, however, the small plants are absolutely sweet, tender and delicious. Baby vegetables are typically a delicacy in the restaurants for this reason.
This Week In Your Box ……
Carrots!: Finally the carrots are large enough to harvest. I have several varieties growing this year like Napoli, Tendersweet and Parsienne which are an adorable little chubby snacking carrot – perfect to drop into soups and stews too.
Radish: You’ll find an assortment of Cherry Belle, Sora and Easter Egg radishes to enjoy this week.
Spring Onions: Another example of how small onions are harvested early to make room for the others to grow larger.
Turnips: I was so disappointed that my turnips became woody from last week’s short heat wave so I collected some salad turnips from my friends at Pistol organic farm for those of you who were looking forward to some spring turnips.
Cilantro: There are just a few bunches of cilantro left this week.
Beets: Just a few bunches of large red beets left before the next succession of beets begins with little beets. We don’t waste anything on the farm. The beet greens are best from the little beets.
Lettuce: This week we feature the Buttercrunch Bibb and Red Cross Lettuce. The Buttercrunch Bibb is a lovely small head of green leaf lettuce and the Red Cross is a gorgeous red/green mixed delicate leaf lettuce which I love on my sandwiches and in my tacos.
Braising Mix: I hope you all tried the braising mix last week and enjoyed trying something new if this was a new experience for you. If you are baffled with how to prepare it, try stirring it with some bacon and serve it on the side with your breakfast eggs. It makes a lovely side dish with dinner too sautéed in olive oil with your garlic scapes and a little sea salt.
Garlic Scapes: These are the most tender and mild way to add garlic to your meals. Just chop up about 4-6” from the cut end of the scape and add to any meal or sauce. They are best cooked. Then you can compost the rest of the flower. You can also make pesto and hummus out of garlic scapes. Here’s a link to a garlic scape hummus recipe: Garlic Scape Hummus and another one for Garlic Scape Pesto
Cranberry Beans: These pink/purple dry beans are close to my heart. They are so delicious in soups and stews. I have great memories from last winter; sitting by the fireplace when the power was out, shelling them by hand by candlelight. It seemed like a good thing to do. It gives new meaning to “connecting with your food” and gives me a great appreciation for the energy that goes into growing dry beans.
Arugula: Add some spice to your salads or any cooked dish in place of pepper.
Swiss Chard: Are you running out of ideas on how to prepare your swiss chard? Try topping a pizza with your braising greens, garlic scapes and spring onion. How about using all the same ingredients in a quiche? Here are a couple more links with ideas. You could even toss it into soup with your cranberry beans. Go crazy! Explore new flavors with seasonal eating. https://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/slideshow/swiss-chard-recipes https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/148889/sauteed-swiss-chard-with-parmesan-cheese/
Strawberries ?: I am optimistically listing strawberries this week. I started harvesting them Friday night by headlamp after returning from the evening farmers market in Cave Junction. However, as I write this, the rain may be damaging all the strawberries that were still ripening on the vine. This is the first year from our strawberries so they will likely be small but deliciously juicy. I confess…..I’ve eaten all the ones I harvested last week. So I’ll do my best to share whatever is available with you this week.
Spinach: This is a wonderful large flat leaf spinach. It’s so versatile to eat raw or cook into any entre.
Extras:
Eggs: This is a good week to add eggs if you need them. I’ve had a waiting list of about 15 dozen constantly for about a month and now I’m all caught up. I always make produce and eggs available to farm share members over the waiting list but this week I’ll have a larger inventory to offer you.
Bagels: Organic bagels from Painted Rooster Bakery in Kerby. Choose from a variety of flavors. These are not gluten free but so soft and delicious.
Dried Basil: This sweet Italian basil was grown on my farm last summer, dried and bottled in a glass shaker bottle. It’s a great way to enjoy basil flavors before the fresh leaves arrive in summer.
Dried Mixed Pepper Flakes: This is a wonderful mix of dried padrone peppers, red and green bell peppers, paprika peppers and poblano peppers. It's a magnificent topper for pizza and omelettes; or to add to soups or chili. Every jar is a little different.
Soothing Skin Salve: The excessive hand washing has worn my hands raw over the past months. I make my own salve with organic beeswax, organic olive oil and certified therapeutic essential oils for skin healing. It smells like Lemon grass and provides wonderful relief at the end of the day. I put it on my lips and feet too which also take a toll as a farmer.
What’s Happening on the Farm?
The eggplant was quickly gobbled up by the cucumber beetles and is a complete crop loss. However, I’ve started a second batch in the greenhouse. If you love eggplant, hopefully they’ll be ready in the late summer if it makes it through transplanting.
After a couple of hot days, the summer squash and cantaloupes are growing like gangbusters. I can’t wait until they are ready to eat.
Last week the French tarragon was planted. This was shipped in from Canada to ensure the authenticity of the tarragon. Most tarragon on the market is Mexican tarragon which tastes entirely different and is in the marigold family. Tarragon and rosemary are two of only a handful of plants I purchase as seedlings. Everything else I start from organic seed. This reduces risk of disease that commonly occurs in greenhouse/nursery environments.
June brings the challenge of juggling harvesting/washing/packing some crops while concurrently planting others. This week while harvesting braising greens, peas, spinach and lettuce, I planted more arugula, spinach, leeks, radish and bunching onions. Repeat planting of crops every two weeks is called succession planting and provides continuous harvest through the whole season (if the weather cooperates). Mother nature sometimes has different plans.
Blessings and wishing you a healthy happy week!
Carrie
