Happy June!
Today we get a reprieve from the heat.
Did you all stay cool this week?
WE watered the crops and watered ourselves.
This week marks the beginning of the 7am start for the crew-they are happy about it.
Heading out to harvest at 7am, before the heat of the day, when the plants look well rested and hydrated, is pleasurable.
Garlic scapes are coming in! Some of you saw garlic scapes as 'green garlic' last week. Garlic scapes are the tender stem and flower bud of a hardneck garlic plant. Garlic scape pesto is divine. Just in time for the pesto challenge on the private FB page!
Chicken!
I will put some of our non GMO pastured chickens on Harvie this week. Check out the extras.
They are mostly between 5-5.5#. They will be frozen and at the bottom of your bag. Please pick up promptly if you order a chicken!
There will be a blog with recipes coming out about how I get 3-4 meals out of a chicken.
Here's 2 great ideas to get you started:
RECIPE #1 – SLOW COOKER CHICKEN
Whole Chicken, Thawed
5 Carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 Onion, chopped
4 Medium Potatoes, chopped
Seasoning of choice for skin(garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper)
Step 1: Place veggies in slow cooker.
Step 2: Remove plastic. Place bird on top of the veggies.
Step 3: Add salt and seasoning of your choice.
Step 4: Set slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours.
Step 5: Remove chicken and shred some of the meat for your next meal. *Do not throw out liquid or bones you will use this to make homemade stock!
Step 6: Serve small portion of chicken with veggies and bread(reserve 3-4 cups of shredded chicken for next meals).
*To make stock for next recipe, add uncooked veggies ( 1-2 carrots, ½ onion, 1 stalk celery, 2 cloves garlic) to leftover over chicken carcass and leftover juices in slow cooker. Cover with water and cook on low overnight. In the morning, strain the broth and discard remains. At this point you can let the broth cool down in the fridge and remove the hardened fat or you can use it as is in the next recipe.
RECIPE #2 – CHICKEN CHILI--
1 can of black beans drained & rinsed
1 can of corn drained
1 can of diced Fire Roasted (I use Muir Glen when I don't have my own) tomatoes not drained
1 package of Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning mix dry
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 medium yellow onion chopped
1 8 oz package of cream cheese
1-2 cups shredded chicken
1 cup of chicken stock
**this is a popular recipe that came from another farmer.
My version: I skip the Hidden valley seasoning and add more spice-3x the cumin, 2x the chili powder, double the garlic, add 1 Tbls smoked paprika & 1/8 tsp of chipotle chili powder for some kick
- In your crock pot combine all ingredients.
- Cook on low heat 5-7 hours.
- Stir well until all cream cheese lumps have dissolved.
- Serve with cornbread & a green salad
On farm pick up folks can buy a chicken at the farm on Tuesdays or Thursdays while they last. We have one more batch that will be ready in July!
Storage Tip of the week:
Remember to remove the tops of all your root veggies and store them separately to keep your roots fresh & crisp.
Fruit Share is strawberries again. I'm sorry that the strawberries aren't as good as last year. With the dry weather they may be tastier this week. It will be a short season for this crop. We are bringing in some organic strawberries from Peter Siwik this week, hoping they are a bit nicer.
Have a great week!
