June 19, 2012

Howdy folks,


"96 degrees in the shade. Real hot! in the shay-e-ade ."
This was the non stop soundtrack over the weekend. It sounds much like the alarm I set on my cell phone to remind me when to turn irrigation water on and off. A cheezy 70's reggae melody complete with "wah wah"  keeps me in time check mode most mornings. The baby chicks are beginning to recognize the sound as it rings every 30 minutes or so and I happen to be around them every hour or two. The chicks have already doubled and tripled in size. Their wing and tail feathers are coming in nicely, and they are beginning to test them out with short spastic leaps
The warm weather has meant less heat lamp and more open doors on their mobile home. They are practicing perching as well, interested in higher heights. A few of them have become fast friends with me, er, at least they dont scamper away when I say hi and refill their feed and water.

Here are a few other animal/insect highlights of the week:

Barn owl- silent silhouette  flying over adobe creek and returning to its home among the walnut trees while I walk to the barn for nighttime CSA box packing. Not so silent screeches, as it flys over trying to scare up some dinner in the dark night.
Bees- constant buzzing on the nearby vetch,mustard,radish and pea flowers while I harvest lettuce.
Toad- while weeding the lettuce I pressed on some dry soil to test for moisture underneath but turns out it was the back of a toad. oops sorry. it just stayed there in its little dugout keeping cool and silent during the heat of the day.
baby birds- chirping for their mothers return. Sometimes I think it is my little chickies, but found a nest among a wood pile of four open mouthed babes in a straw and stick nest.

Ok, in this weeks box:


Calypso/Yin Yang Bean: comes to us from Judith and Leonard Diggs at BioFarm. Harvested and dried late last summer.  shelled and "spiral cleaned" this spring. A beautiful bean nicknamed "yin yang bean" or "orca bean" for its unique color pattern. some say it has a potato-y flavor. For a striking presentation, Judith recommends to cook the beans in water alone and add it to a flavorful broth saute with greens after. When cooked with other vegetables or darker broth it will take on darker colors and have a "dirty look". I found a few recipes that looked good on the internet. Here they are :
chocolate calypso bean recipe.
another recipe from 101 cookbooks

Leeks: another item from BioFarm. A delicious and mild member of the allium family. Whole plant is edible.The green tops will have a stronger flavor while the white bottom is mildly pungent and sweet. Excellent sliced thin in a salad or slowly sweat for the base of soup stock.Many uses very versatile.
Another farmer in town uses the phrase "lovers of leeks are lovers of life" to garner attention for this often overlooked and under appreciated vegetable.

Onion: Stuttgarter is the name. An immature yellow storage onion. more mild flavor. The rest will be harvested and dried in late summer, but I see the gophers beginning to suck them down, and I want you to taste them too. Gophers are the reason we have not attempted to grow garlic this year, two years ago I watched them get sucked down one by one while I tried in vain to catch the underground thief. Whole plant edible. but outer skin and neck may be dryer and unpalatable material. green tops are strong flavored and great used as a garnish or addition to soup, salad, eggs, sandwich, you name it!
Included with the onion bunch-
Micro Bouquet of Yarrow flower (don't use if preggers), Sage leaves and FeverFew flower.

Purslane: Another overlooked superstar in the garden, often refered to as a "weed".  This little guy is the highest vegetable source of Omega 3 fatty acids and high in vitamin C as well as other vitamins and minerals.
This is very young purslane, most tender and vibrant.
Check out this link for more info and a plethora of purslane recipes.

Walnut : A hefty cup of hand cracked walnuts from our farm. I know of two different varieties grown here- Hartley and (a Lake County Exclusive) Poe. Both have great flavor, but the Poe is renowned for its excellent flavor - though fell out of production due to its smaller yeilds and harder shell.Glad we have some here. Keep the good times rolling and join us in October when we harvest walnuts.

Red Russian/ Rainbow Kale Mix : this may be the last harvest from these two. The hot days have put some stress on them and the flea beetles responded with munching mouth parts, hence some damage. still a yummy flavor, I was taste testing before harvest to make sure they fine after the triple digit temps. A little more fibrous so they will benefit from a longer cook time. perhaps in  a stew or bean dish. wink wink.

Lettuce :
Jericho romaine : Bred and developed in Isreal to withstand hot climates and still taste good, this lettuce is a crunchy salad treat. suffering a bit of tip burn, you may notice brown edges on some of the leaves. this is due to dew or excess moisture sitting on the leave and heating up during the day. please excuse the appearance and damage.

New Red Fire : a gorgeous ruffled red leaf lettuce. Also bred to withstand hot and cold temperature.
Incredible color and pigment. My last visit to the optometrist warrented a compliment on my colorful iris'.
The doctor and I attributed it to a diet rich in leafy greens and colorful foods full of life. Thanks full moon farm health assurance.


Little Gem : This little guy changed my life. We were introduced some 8 years ago while I worked for Blue Heron Farm at the Berkeley farmers market. The perfect lettuce. crisp and tender texture,small but mature stature and delightful on the tastebuds. Perfect size to drizzle dressing over the top and eat out of hand like an ice cream cone, or simply slice in half lengthwise and serve on a plate. Also this leaf is a great size to carry saucy covered grains or meats. try this thai lettuce cups recipe if you dare.