Farm Fresh weekly newsletter 07/09/2010

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Hi everyone!

 

This past week included a lot of weeding, some planting, and tons of harvesting starting tonight and continuing tomorrow!  I love this time of year, when the harvest starts to become abundant and all the hard work truly begins to pay off.  It has been dry at the farm, we haven't had much rain in the past couple of weeks.  That changed last night when the sky opened up - I awoke to full bird feeders and puddles outside.  I skipped the fieldwork this morning, opting instead to go out late this afternoon, to avoid the muddy fields I expected.  Well.... turns out the rain didn't hit much at the farm - they barely had any out there.  Goes to show, the weather can be totally different just a few miles away... as I recently read - "Well, the rain has to stop somewhere".  Indeed it did, somewhere in between my city home and my rented farm plot.  We'll just keep our fingers crossed for more rain soon.

Next week I will begin planting fall vegetable seed - it seems a farmer's mind is always a couple months ahead, I've been thinking of fall and winter, frost and freeze, even next spring, all week.   But, in the meantime, the fruits of summer are here!

 

This Saturday at the Freeport Farmers Market, located in the CVS parking lot on South Street from 7:30-11 am, I'll have:

 

 

• Yellow Wax Beans (Snap Bean)  Beautiful bright yellow green beans.  Very crisp, mild tasting.  These plants don't seem to produce a lot, so I may not have as many as I hoped.  The early bird catches the worm.... er, the early market goer gets some!  :-)
• Romano Green Beans The Romano beans (Italian flat podded) have picked up production and I harvested a lot more tonight than last week. 
• Royal Burgandy Green Beans  Fabulous dark purple green beans that turn green when cooked.  This is among the first pickings so I won't have a lot.  Early risers will reap the rewards. 
• Sugar Snap Peas I may have a few bags available - this one is questionable.   
• Lettuce Blend   The first planting of lettuce is still holding up, and it will be mixed together for market with a brand-new crop that I will begin harvesting tomorrow.
  This lettuce blend will be sold washed and bagged with all varieties mixed together. 
• Walla Walla Onions Oh, my, are these a treat.  The sweetest, mildest, tastiest onion you'll ever had.  Great eaten raw, also great cooked.  Recipes below.
• Zucchini & Summer Squash In addition to some baby zucchini, I'll have a few small sized as well.  Several heirloom varieties to choose from, all mild, tender, and delicious.
• Kohlrabi I may have a few kohlrabi on hand - i'll be checking their size tomorrow and will decide then.
• Swiss Chard  A beautiful green, chock full of vitamins!  I grow an heirloom-variety of Swiss Chard that has multi-colored stems - bright yellow, red, orange, pink, even white! 
• Holland Greens My favorite green.  Very mild, huge leaves.  Delicious  - and I'm not a huge green-eater. 
• Kale I will have a small amount of kale to harvest tomorrow, come early if you'd like it.  :-) 
• Radishes I'll have French Breakfast radishes (the elongated pink radish with a white tip as well as cherry belle, a small red).  These radishes will be small, fresh, and mild. 
• Cilantro  This great herb is still available.   
• Baby Dill Toss some on a lettuce salad for a delicious surprise! Also great in dips, potato salad, and more.
• Parsley I may have a small amount of fresh parsley. 
• Aprons & Potholders as always, I'll have my handmade unique aprons for sale.  Aprons are priced as marked.

To follow the happenings at the farm, recipes, and daily life, you can read my blog at http://all-natural-mama.blogspot.com/ .
Wishful Acres Organic Farm is on Facebook, and you can visit me there as well: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3D938258&id=3D1642007622#!/pages/Wishful-Acres-Organic-Farm/222010642190?ref=3Dts
Thanks, all! Have a great weekend.  Recipes follow.

Penny Petersonhttp://all-natural-mama.blogspot.com/

 

 

RECIPES

Walla Walla Onion ideas

These are my favorite onion; similar in taste to Vidalia, with the sweet, incredibly mild character.  Here is how we like to use them:

• Sliced raw in a lettuce salad, pasta salad, or my favorite rice salad (click for recipe).
• Chop it up with fresh cilantro for a taco or burrito topping.  There is a Mexican taco made with chorizo sausage, topped with diced onion & cilantro, served in a corn tortilla.
• Use it on a sandwich or in a wrap.
• Great in potato salad or macaroni salad for a pot luck.
• Roast some slices - coat with a sprinkling of olive oil, seasonings of choice, and bake at 425 for 5-10 minutes (keep an eye on it)

Roasted Snap Beans (Green, yellow, Romano, purple, any bean!)

1 bag market snap beans

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)

 

Snap the ends off the beans, rinse, allow to dry.  Coat with olive oil, sprinkle with seasonings, then put in a roasting pan or on a cookie sheet.  Cook at 425 for about 10 minutes.  If you have something else in the oven cooking at 350, I have cooked these at that temperature as well - just give them 15 minutes instead of 10, and they may not have the nice browned roasted spots, but it will do in a pinch.  :-)

 

 

 

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