july 24, 2012

Hi there again.

In this weeks box:

Asian Eggplant: Full Moon Farm. Only one, but more to come in the near future. Thin skinned, none to minimal seeds and no bitterness, so no salting necessary. The squirrels have gotten to the most westerly plants as they are nearest the creek bank which is home for a seemingly increasing population of ground squirrels. Everyday I walk thru the BFF (back field forever) and repair holey drip tape thanks to the quail and squirrels. Around 4pm when shade is cast at the edge of the field I make another visit and bring some clods or rocks to toss in the quails direction  to chase them beyond my human bounds and hopefully keep them from returning before I make another "security check"  a couple hours later. A very frustrating routine as I have yet to keep them at bay and there are new holes and missing fruits everyday, though I do like the myriad of sounds the quail make. the squirrels on the other hand, I have yet to appreciate. We have tried burying the irrigation tape, but I see the quail dig it up. and now we have placed a pan of water for them  to utilize instead of our precious t-tape. We shall see the results.
Please enjoy.

Cabbage: Full Moon Farm. Remember those cabbage leaves that looked like collards from a couple weeks ago? well, some of  those plants finally decided to head up. Thank goodness, I debated mowing them all down as I did the kale to keep the dreaded harlequin bug away, but did not see any so kept them around. Yay! petit  chous! (Little cabbage in french) A personal sized head great for a salad or the smallest batch of kraut one ever made. tonight I sliced extra fine and made a cucumber/cabbage salad with yogurt dressing. pretty good if I say so myself. for the salad slice cabbage very thin, salt and let sit for 10 minutes. squeeze the cabbage until water or juice begins to express itself and let sit while you add cucumber and whatever veggies you like. yogurt dressing: yogurt with a clove or two of garlic-minced. salt,pepper, basil, olive oil and water for consistency, ume vinegar for that special twang and drizzle over veggies. squeeze and mix  it all together and voila!

Cucumber x 2: Leonardis Organics. Both Striped Armenian and either Satsuki Madori or Suyo Long. the lovely and sweet striped armenian (bagged to keep crisp) and the crisp clean flavor of the asian cuke. All awesome in their own way. (Jim is partial to the asian cukes this week himself) try them in a salad (see above), sliced for a snack, juiced, or however you like 'em. Cucumbers are medicine for the season now. Relieving excess heat and irritation, alkalizing the blood, and tasting great, you cant beat them. Next week we may have armenian cukes from Full Moon, just a handful to pick right now. lots of flowers.

Summer Squash: Full Moon Farm Oh no not again. Please warn me before you get burnt out on squash, unless its too late already. I'm planning a mini break next week. Tonight along with the cucumber/cabbage salad I ate a delicious saute of eggplant and summer squash with coconut milk and yellow thai curry paste. Deelish. I find there are many ways to spice up the seemingly summer squash monotony. I tried a zucchinii fritter ( reminded me of latkes) this week, that could have turned out better.  if I had squeezed out more liquid before frying. Though I enjoyed the new flavors and texture of shredded squash.

Chard / Collards: Ancient Lake Gardens. Another triple digit scorcher of a week here in Lake County and the greens are oh so valuable. chard and collards tend to stand up to the heat better than the kales.

Purple Top Turnips: Ancient Lake Gardens. what? turnips at the end of july? even in our desert like climate, the overhead irrigation and lake influence at Ancient Lake keeps these cooler season crops happy.
Farmer Dave and I were waxing poetic about bugs, weeds, ideals and biodynamics today as we harvested, rinsed and bunched these items. Believe me, with all the physical work that farming demands, I am so grateful for the opportunity to get philosophical and look closely at the energies on the farm with another, and further connect with my intention to feed you. May these turnips fill you with wonder and inspiration for close inspection and earthy goodness.

Lettuce: Love Farm. Alright, the first summer harvest of lettuce from Teales hoophouse for our CSA. With additional help from a 30% shade cloth to keep the burn off,  this lettuce is sure to please.