Archive for the ‘Garden Update’ Category

Box 8 July 22nd

Posted in Garden Update, Weekly Boxes on July 22, 2013| 1 Comment »

A wonderful rain yesterday after a long, hot, dry week. It is difficult for us at times to be out in the heat but the plants love the warm days and nights. Crops are in full swing and amazing to see how the tomato and cucumber vines will grow a foot or more over night. The watermelon vines are snaking all over the place and once again we thought we allowed TONS! of space for them to spread out and they are slowing sneaking into the sweet potatoes……

The itty bitty watermelon from last week! Now bigger than my head.

The garlic harvest is complete and the huge beauties are drying in the shed aside for a few of the smaller ones we had to include in the boxes this week for a taste. Scott has pulled the irrigation, tilled and we are set for planting new this week. We did our last picking of beans from the first planting and it is nice to have a break from the 3 hour every other day duty. It was a great harvest! Beans will return again in a few weeks from our second planting.

We are pleased that we have not had any issues with blight so far. Lots of worry but all is well and strong. Given the long, cool and wet Spring we thought there would be trouble with pests and other moisture issues like molds and fungus. Happy to report that these issues are low to totally absent this year. Scott does a daily inspection walk of the entire garden and we use various organic options to keep everything healthy.

Scott and his grand daughter started our carrot harvest this week and had a lot of fun together. After a quick wash in the wringer washer we bagged them for the boxes. Delicious. We were determined to have wonderful carrots this season after last season’s wimpy crop. We had a terrible time getting seed to germinate in the extreme heat last year. Here they are! 3 varieties. Hours of fussy weeding and thinning and hand watering and totally worth it.

Maeve helped clean the onions for the boxes this week and she is proud of her work. She told us she is the “grand champion onion peeler” and we had trouble getting her to quit and get ready for bed. We had a glimpse of our future and her help with the boxes.

Anne “the egg lady” is taking preorders for red raspberries next week. $2 for a 1/2 pint $4 for a pint. Let me know by Friday if you would like to order. Erdman group members send an e-mail by Friday and we will bring them down with the delivery. She also brought chickens again this week. They are in the cooler and $3 a pound.

Pears ripening on the trees!

A note about the boxes….we are short about 40 boxes right now. Please look at home and bring them back with next weeks delivery/pick up. Thanks!

Lots of Eggplant in the Extra Box this week…not quite enough for all the boxes so we included it here. Please take some if you wish.

WHAT IS IN YOUR BOX

What a Smorgasbord this week!!!!

Scott wasn’t sure we would be able to close the boxes this week.

Lettuce-A huge head called Nevada. A strong lettuce that can withstand the heat. Scott’s daily watering assured that we would have this jumbo treat this week. Very tasty.

Beets-A nice sized bundle for everyone. Remember the greens are edible and delicious.

Beets ready to be bundled….over 550!

Green Beans-1 pound + again! The last harvest from the first planting.

New bean plants geminating in the old pea area….

Pac Choi-Perfect for the Summer stir fry.

Zucchini-The patty pans are starting to really flower and all the plants are now in full swing. Again, we harvest daily and pick them small so they are perfectly sized for meals.

Cucumbers-Long slender European varieties and a big bag of crunchers.

Potatoes-3 pounds. Early Reds this week. Great roasted and makes the best “home fries” ever. Can be mashed and baked too but this is a bit of a waxer potato. We have 5 varieties of potatoes in the ground yet so it will be a fun season of trying different varieties.

Scott washing the potatoes in the rain.

Garlic-We sorted the garlic all out for drying and portioned off the smaller bulbs to include in the boxes this week for fresh eating.

Rosemary-Perfect paring with the potatoes. Dries well too for future use too.

Dill-We wanted to include this when we had a big bounty of cucumbers for refrigerator pickles.

Onion-These are fresh eating onions not storage.

Micro Greens-Little mild sprouted greens to cut and add to salads or a garnish on hot dishes. Keep on a bright windowsill on a low plate and water as needed.

Best Guess for next week.

Lettuce, eggplant, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, savoy cabbage and potatoes.

Recipe “issues” again…..I’ll figure it out soon I hope. Beet brownies are the best! Do look on the internet for a recipe.

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Box 6 July 8th

Posted in Garden Update, Weekly Boxes on July 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »

We had a productive week in the garden. The melon, tomatoes, eggplant, and pepper plants really grew with the warmer temperatures. Nice for us to see as this was not the type of Spring they enjoy or thrive in. We seeded in a long loooooooong row of storage carrots for Fall harvest right next to the long looooooong row of summer carrots that look great and we should be harvesting the snappy beauties soon. More lettuce went in the lettuce beds, 2 long rows of colorful beets were seeded in and whenever we had a spare moment we were weeding fools. The potato crop looks amazing and we are hopeful it will be our best crop ever. The garlic is starting to decline and we dug one to take a sneak peak. A gorgeous big bulb. We also planted our onions differently this year as we have always had trouble weeding them mid season in the past. They too are looking great and we should have a bumper crop to share.

Beautiful onions.

We had an uninvited guest in the garden on Wednesday night…..We are guessing a woodchuck. Scott was doing his daily walk through inspection and discovered that the visitor snacked away on EVERY soybean plant in the 200 foot row! The leaves were completely nibbled off and the stalk remained like a pencil sticking out of the ground. Disappointing but we replanted within hours of the discovery. Edamame will just be 3 weeks later this year.

Scott will start putting up the new greenhouse this week and we are excited. A “season extender”. Earlier crops in the Spring and we are going to experiment with trying greens all winter long. Also, we hope to have all our leafy green crops planted in ground in this new house next Summer season. This will make life much easier without the row cover.

It was an amazing harvest in the garden this week! The boxes are bountiful and a few of the true tastes of summer have arrived.

First cucumber of the season.

WHAT IS IN YOUR BOX

Cauliflower-over a pound for everyone! 2 varieties, a purple tinged beauty and a fluffy snow white head. Next week we should see more of the white snowball variety as it is just starting to head up. Just delicious. Maeve ate it as her bedtime snack last night. Lots of cooking options. Mashed, roasted and makes a great pizza crust.

Cauliflower harvest.

Green Beans- Holy cow! 50 pounds picked off our first picking. Everyone has a nice big bag for the week.

Cabbage-A favorite we like to grow every year. A smaller variety that heads up early and is the perfect size for a few meals or a batch of coleslaw. Flavorful crunchy heads.

Lettuce-Deep green juicy leaves. Will make a wonderful salad with the cabbage. These are cute little mini heads that stay small….2+ heads for everyone depending on the head size.

Cucumbers-Just under a pound of assorted snackers. We are growing 5 different varieties this year and the vines are just starting to produce. Cucumbers will appear as a staple in many boxes to come this summer. The vines are loaded with beautiful buttery yellow blooms.

Sugar Snap Peas-This week was the big harvest of the season…we will pull the vines this week. Amazing harvest and we are so pleased with our “pea season” after last year’s disappointment in the heat. Eat the whole thing-pod and all….Packaged in a plastic bag this week.

Scott picking the sugar snaps high over head!

Shelling pea-Nice plump pods with sweet little peas. Packaged in a green quart box this week. Eat peas only after shelling. Pod is VERY fibrous. Vines will also be pulled this week. The end of the peas this year.

Zucchini-6 different varieties are in the garden this year. There were enough for everyone to get a taste of the first picking of the season. Another staple in the boxes for the summer.

Kale- A BIG! robust bunch. Many different varieties in color and texture.

Fennel-2 big bulbs for everyone. Kale and fennel make a delicious salad.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK

Cauliflower, cucumbers, zucchini, parsley, turnips, cabbage, swiss chard

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Box 5 July 1st

Posted in Garden Update, Recipes, Weekly Boxes on July 1, 2013| 2 Comments »

We survived the daily rains of last week, just shy of 5 inches total. As mentioned before what a different season from last year. We were far beyond desperate for rain at this time last year and now this season fearful it will never end. It was difficult to get in the garden at times because it was a soupy mess, we had to modify our planting and harvesting schedule a bit, Scott had to dig trenches to drain water off and we had to wear funny HOT! rain pants all week and still got wet.

My favorite outfit this week…..why Scott bought me size Large is beyond me! Nice and “roomy”.

Lettuce Harvest.

The rain seems to be behind us (for now) and we only lost a few rounds of lettuce that could not handle the extreme moisture and steamy heat.

The garden grew and grew with all the heat and moisture-and we are STILL well weeded! We have made several passes through the carrot bed, another pass through the onions, Scott has all the rows clear and mowed. Neat and tidy. Several crops maturing….We are excited to see what happens next week… tiny beans on the plants, cabbage heading up nicely, summer squash just getting started, beautiful!! cauliflower, maybe even some cucumbers too! Summer is here.

We are thrilled with the pea harvest this season. Last year we were lucky that everyone got just a taste of peas. Germination was terrible in the early heat, and then we were picking peas from pathetic knee high vines. NOT this year….we may need a ladder and the shelling vines are loaded. Snow peas are plentiful and snaps oh so sweet. Enjoy!

Zucchini!

Itty Bitty Beans on the plants.

Melon vines starting to flower.

Blueberry Bushes are LOADED and starting to show a blush of color.

I just love to take pictures of potato flowers……beautiful.

WHAT IS IN YOUR BOX

Every shade of green!

Lettuce-Another beautiful oak leaf variety.

Celery-A surprise appearance….I thought we would be a week or 2 out on this crop. Lots of celery in the garden. Another favorite. Amazing flavor!!! Nothing like the celery sold in grocery stores. Delicious in soups, fantastic in salads. Use stalks and leaves…

Broccoli-This is the Spring planted Broccoli. 2 varieties. We also have Summer broccoli planted and will plant a Fall cold hardy crop too.

Garlic Scapes-The last cutting in the garlic patch. Remember these hold very well in the refrigerator in a sealed plastic bag.

Pea Medley!!!!!

Snow Peas-2 varieties-1 is a giant! These are the long flat peas. Eat pod and all. We boxed these up in green berry boxes this week.

Sugar Snap Peas- Deliciously sweet. Eat pod and all. These are labeled and packaged in a clear plastic clamshell.

Shelling Peas-Shell and eat peas ONLY….pod is VERY fibrous. Packaged in a plastic bag this week. Shelling peas are just getting started…..2 more plantings are maturing.

Mint-Peas and mint are the perfect match….a hearty bunch for everyone. Cut stems and keep it in a glass of water in the refrigerator.

Collard Greens-4 varieties planted of these pretty leaves. Work great for “burrito style” sandwiches or wraps, tasty in smoothies. A few recipes at the end of the post.

Basil Plant-Big beautiful plants. We like to grow a plant for everyone to take home every year….enjoy! We will also have cut basil in future boxes at peak tomato time.

Relaxing in the pool after a hard days work…..

Best Guess for Next Week- cabbage, cauliflower, kale, fennel, parsley, beans??, shelling peas

A note about recipes…..I gather recipes on Pinterest for all we grow in the garden. If any of you visit Pinterest I have a CSA Board. Feel free to take a look and/or follow it. The board is under my name Jennifer Fox. Also, if you wish to post a favorite recipe in the comment section feel free I will publish it for all to see. The Madison CSA Coalition publishes a wonderful cookbook too.

Collard Greens and Bacon

Ingredients:

1 bag pre-chopped collards from Trader Joe’s (or chard from the store)

2 medium sized shallots, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

4-5 strips bacon

1 tbs apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup water

1/4 tsp white pepper

Sea salt to taste

Directions:

Cut bacon into small pieces and cook in large saute pan on medium heat until slightly browned. Add in diced shallots and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes. Add in collards, water and ACV. Stir and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes. You don’t want brown collards, but bright green collards. Add salt and pepper and serve.

Creamed Collards

Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas; Styling: Rose Nguyen

Try this easy method for cutting up the bacon: Remove wrapping from bacon. Place the entire pound of cold bacon on a cutting board, and slice into 12-inch cubes.

Worthy of a special occasion

Rate and Review | Read Reviews (8)

Yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings

Recipe from

Recipe Time

Cook Time: 40 Minutes
Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Ingredients

4 1/2 pounds fresh collard greens*
1 pound bacon, chopped $
1/4 cup butter
2 large onions, diced $
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Béchamel Sauce

Preparation

1. Rinse collard greens. Trim and discard thick stems from bottom of collard green leaves (about 2 inches); coarsely chop collards.
2. Cook bacon, in batches, in an 8-qt. stock pot over medium heat 10 to 12 minutes or until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels, reserving drippings in stock pot. Reserve 14 cup bacon.
3. Add butter and onions to hot drippings in skillet. Sauté onion 8 minutes or until tender. Add collards, in batches, and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until wilted. Stir in chicken broth, next 3 ingredients, and remaining bacon.
4. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes or to desired degree of tenderness. Drain collards, reserving 1 cup liquid.
5. Stir in Béchamel Sauce. Stir in reserved cooking liquid, 1/4 cup at a time, to desired consistency. Transfer to a serving dish, and sprinkle with reserved 1/4 cup bacon.
*2 (1-lb.) packages fresh collard greens, thoroughly washed, trimmed, and chopped, may be substituted.

John Currence, City Grocery, Oxford, Mississippi, Southern Living

Citrus Collards

Serves: 4 Edit

Ingredients

U.S.

Metric

Conversion chart

1 tablespoon(s) sea salt
1/2 teaspoon(s) sea salt, combined with above sea salt
2 bunch(es) (about 12 cups) collard greens, ribs removed, cut into strips, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil
2 clove(s) garlic, minced
2/3 cup(s) raisins
1/3 cup(s) fresh-squeezed orange juice

Directions

In a large pot over high heat, bring 3 quarts (12 cups) water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon salt. Add the collards and cook, uncovered, for 8 to 10 minutes, until softened. Meanwhile, prepare a large bowl of ice water.
Remove the collards from heat, drain, and plunge into the bowl of cold water to stop cooking and set the color. Drain, gently pressing the greens against the colander.
In a medium-size sauté pan, combine olive oil and garlic. Sauté for 1 minute on medium heat. Add the collards, raisins, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Sauté for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the orange juice and cook for an additional 15 seconds. Do not overcook (collards should

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Box 4 June 24th

Posted in Garden Update, Recipes, Weekly Boxes on June 24, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Another wonderful week. It sure is nice to say this. I love it when we harvest a crop and within 24 hours something new moves in. The Chinese Cabbage was harvested in the morning and by the next morning 200 kohlrabi starts took their place. Same for the Radishes. They were out-Scott does his magic, cleans everything up, prepares the area and says “it’s ready for you” and I had Daikon Radish seeds planted by supper. Things are running pretty smoothly around here. We are staying ahead of the weeds and all crops seem to be settling in. We laughed on the first day of Summer because we both said “Man, it’s over”…..if it isn’t planted or planned by now we are out of time….crazy to think this way.

A quick photo tour of the garden.

This nice lady greets me at the greenhouse.

Tomatoes ripening on the vine.

Beautiful Potato Flowers.

Broccoli Plants starting to head up.

One of us will soon be eating this little cucumber.

One of the cucumber rows.

Savoy Cabbage just starting to head.

The Garden offered up many options this week and it was hard to winnow down the selection so we were certain the box lid would close (a common mid summer problem), and that we would not all be overwhelmed with leafy green overload. Fodder!-In Scott’s words. Over 3.5 inches of rain fell last week. Gratefully we have not had any flooding issues and even though it is wet and mucky in places we are thriving.

WHAT IS IN YOU BOX

Lettuce-A sweet, dark leafed head. It glows under the row cover when the sun is just right. A favorite, and makes a beautiful salad. A second lime green lettuce is also included this week. We were unimpressed with it’s performance but it is very tasty. It’s called “prize head”-not in our book. Anyway, an add on here it will make a pretty accent in the salad bowl.

Sugar Snap Peas-They are here! Our first picking through a huge patch….this is just the beginning! This variety is called Sugar Ann. The earliest sugar snap pea to produce in our area. Ripening few days ahead of the others. You can eat the entire pea-pod and all. Great for snacking.

Chinese Cabbage-WOW! These loved the cool Spring. HUGE! heads. Will hold well in the refrigerator for a looooooong time. We cut it in 1/2 soak it in the sink in cool water, rinse and store it in sealable plastic bags in the fridge ready for future use. Tastes great raw too in salads or on sandwiches. A few interesting recipes at the end of this post too.

Salad Turnips- We are harvesting all 4 varieties this week. Scarlets are the spicier ones-whites quite mild. Remember the greens are edible too. Sauté and serve as a side or atop a bowl of your favorite pasta dish.

Fennel-Another crop that really loved the cool Spring….this is the first harvest of more to come. Fennel fronds taste really delicious added to water with citrus wedges (lime, lemon, orange). Very refreshing.

Radish-A small forgotten patch. We seeded an area in and covered it with row cover and forgot about it until this week. So, the last few gems until Fall.

Cilantro-A nice flavorful bunch. A quick salad dressing is olive oil and lime with a bit of chopped cilantro mixed in. Or added to a favorite mexican dish.

Strawberries-Baraboo Group only. Delicious and Sweet. We are thrilled that we are able to add this crop to our CSA weekly offering.

The “extra/trade” box will have a few surprises…..snow peas (the delicious long skinny guys) have just started to produce-grab a handful if you wish. A few smaller heads of broccoli and some monster heads of chinese cabbage too.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK

lettuce, kale, garlic scapes, peas, broccoli

Coconut Cilantro Rice

This is a guest post from For the Love of Cooking.

After looking online for different Asian rice recipes, I decided to make my own version of coconut cilantro rice. In this recipe I used light coconut milk (because that’s what I had on hand) but if you want the rice to have a stronger coconut flavor and to be extra rich then you should definitely use regular coconut milk. I think the cilantro gave it an extra special flavor and it really paired perfectly with the Asian Salmon and the Garlic-Ginger Bok Choy Sauté. It turned out really delicious and we all loved it, even my daughter, who usually doesn’t care for rice.

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add the rice and cook, stirring often so the rice doesn’t stick to the pan, for 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken broth and coconut milk then season with sea salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium low. Cover and let cook 20 minutes.

Remove the rice from the burner without removing the lid and let it sit for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the lid and fluff rice with a fork. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and mix until well combined. Taste & re-season if needed. Serve and enjoy.

Coconut Cilantro RiceYield: 4-5

Total Time: 30 min.

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic
1 cup basmati rice
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup light coconut milk
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Directions:

Recipe and photos by For the Love of Cooking.net

Recipe for Spicy Mexican Slaw with Lime and Cilantro

This Spicy Mexican Slaw is a salad I make over and over again!

Don’t you love it when you stumble on a recipe with such a perfect combination of ingredients that after one bite you know you’ll be making it over and over again? That’s just how I felt when I tasted this fabulous cabbage salad. I have in fact made it two more times in less than two weeks, and completely loved it each time. As soon as I read the recipe in Fine Cooking Annual 2008, with an ingredient list that included cabbage, cilantro, mayo, and lime I knew I’d be making it soon. I did adapt the recipe a little, and since I like my cabbage salads to stay crunchy, I completely ignored the recipe instructions to salt and drain the cabbage.

Spicy Mexican Slaw with Lime and Cilantro
(Makes about 4 servings, recipe can be easily doubled. Recipe adapted slightly fromFine Cooking Annual 2008.)

Ingredients:
4 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
(You can use all green or all red cabbage.)
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (or more)
4 T mayo
3 T fresh lime juice (more or less to taste)
hot sauce to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp. green Tabasco sauce when I first made this, but lately I’ve been using Sriracha sauce)
salt to taste (I used Vege-Sal)

Instructions:

Thinly slice cabbage, using a mandoline or food processor if desired. Slice green onions, and wash, dry and chop cilantro. (I use a Mini salad spinner to wash herbs and spin them dry.) Combine cabbage, green onions and cilantro in large salad bowl.

In small bowl, whisk together, mayo, lime juice, and hot sauce. (You may want to start with less than the full amount of lime juice and hot sauce and keep adding until you have the desired blend of sour/hot flavor.)

Use a wooden spoon to mix dressing into cabbage mixture. Season to taste with salt and serve immediately, or chill for a few hours.

This salad will keep well overnight in the refrigerator, but the lime juice will cause the red cabbage to bleed color and turn the salad slightly pink. If you’re making extra you might want to use all green cabbage, although I didn’t mind the pink color at all when I ate the leftovers!

Printer Friendly Recipe

By: starvingchef

{mustard glazed chinese cabbage}[gluten-free]

Ingredients:

1 chinese cabbage, cut into quarters

Marinate:

1 ts honey

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1 ts olive oil

1 ts dijon mustard

Method:

Mix all ingredients for the marinate and glaze the cabbage with it. Place them onto a baking sheet and bake it until they are golden brown. Sprinkle it with chopped scallion when served.

Easy Chinese Cabbage Soup

Printable recipe
By Pig Pig’s Corner

Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Yield: serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1 head Chinese cabbage – cut into strips

1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken stock

3 tbs goji berries

Salt

White pepper powder

Directions:

Place chicken stock into a pot and bring to boil.

Add all the cabbage and leave to cook until they are wilted. This should take about 10 mins or less. [1 1/2 cups of liquid is not enough to cover all the cabbage, don’t worry, the cabbage leaves give out a lot of water.]

When all the leaves are soft, add goji berries and leave to simmer for another 5 mins.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Variations:

Marmite works well too.

If I run out of low sodium chicken stock, I use water + a bit of Knorr chicken powder.

Chinese Cabbage & Fennel Salad

This salad is crisp and tastes really refreshing!

Ingredients for 2 servings

-1 fennel bulb/1 φινόκιο
-1 Chinese cabbage/1 Κινέζικο λάχανο
-2 stalks spring garlic/2 πράσινα σκόρδα
-1 green apple/1 πράσινο μήλο
-1 lime/1 λαϊμ
-1 tsp mustard/ 1 κ.γ. μουστάρδα
-2 tbsp olive oil/2 κ.σ. ελαιόλαδο
-some leaves of the fennel/λίγο φρέσκο μάραθο (το πάνω μέρος από το φινόκιο)
-salt to taste/αλάτι
-3 tbsp raw pine nuts/ 3 κ.σ. ωμο κουκουνάρι

Finely chop the Chinese cabbage, the fennel bulb, some of the fennel leaves and the apple. Juice the lime and mix with olive oil, mustard and salt. In a bowl mix the salad, pour in the dressing and top with pine nuts.

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Box 3 June 17th

Posted in Garden Update, Recipes, Weekly Boxes on June 17, 2013| Leave a Comment »

I did not realize that last weeks post only went to those that signed up for direct e-mail updates and not the general blog in time for the 3 pick up on Monday…..all fixed now. Sorry for any confusion.

Another big week here in the garden. We are pleased that all 200+ pepper plants are settling into their new home. Lots of delicious and colorful sweet bells, bull horn varieties as well as a fun mini sweet called Lunchbox. 4 hot and medium hot varieties too for salsas and stuffing. The eggplants are happy next to their neighbors the cauliflower and both crops enjoyed a few perfect rain showers. We transplanted all the watermelon and muskmelon starts out on Thursday night. 3 of our favorite watermelon and a reliable and tasty muskmelon called Pride of WI. It should be quite a bounty! We finished the watermelon job with time to spare and quickly seeded in a long long row and then some of edamame. Anytime we had a spare minute we would WEED and WEED and WEED. This is the time of year that is so important to stay on top of all the weeds, they can quickly overtake a patch and choke out a crop. The sweet potato slips I mentioned last week arrived and are beautiful. Scott and I will get them transplanted in tomorrow as the last big deal crop to get in the ground.

Maeve likes to play “train” when the boxes are lined up ready to be packed in the morning.

WHAT IS IN YOU BOX

Salad Turnips-We look forward to these every Spring and Fall. A nice crop of 4 varieties-2 white and 2 scarlet. We should have at least a few weeks harvest. Not too spicy and NOT the big Fall turnips. Delicious raw on salads or can be roasted or fried.

Radishes-The same tasty mix as last week. This harvest finishes up the bed.

Garlic Scapes-The top cutting of the garlic plant. Tastes just like the garlic bulb that we will be eating in the near future. Use it in any way you would use garlic. Stores well in the refrigerator sealed in an airtight bag or container.

garlic scapes in the garden.

Lettuce-Another very pretty head this week, an oak leaf variety.

Spinach-A 1/4 pound bag for everyone! We are thinking that this will be the last week. The patch is slowing down. Leaves are not as juicy and sweet as when the temperatures are cool and a few plants are wanting to bolt. Spinach will revisit in the Fall.

Swiss Chard-Beautiful!!!! Big bunches. Swiss chard looks (and tastes!) fantastic this year. Long tender stalks and delicious thick juicy leaves. Maeve was eating it right out of the garden as I was harvesting.

Pea Shoots-A treat! Just cut these little mini vines and add to your salads or sandwiches. Packed full of wonderful pea flavor. They are “cut and come again”. Just snip with a scissor what you would like for your meal and they will keep growing. Store on a bright windowsill in a shallow plate or bowl. Keep moist water when needed.

Strawberries- 1/2 pound+ pint. Erdman group this week. Baraboo group next week. This is the first year of our berry patch and it is still developing. We liked the idea of splitting the group so everyone would get a nice basket with their box.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK

Peas!!!, Chinese Cabbage, Fennel, Kale, Strawberries (Baraboo Group), Lettuce, Salad Turnips, Mint, Cilantro. Here we go folks…..

Next weeks pea harvest!

Scott had to reinforce the trellis as the vines are so big and plentiful.

Broccoli, and storage cabbage seeded in for another round….

A Few recipes……..

Garlic Scape Aioli

Two egg yolks *
Juice of one lemon
1/2 to 3/4 cups olive oil (extra virgin preferable and use the good stuff, you will notice the difference)
Garlic scapes, about a handful
Salt & Pepper to taste (a pinch or two should do it)

METHOD:

First, roughly chop the garlic scapes then give them a few whirls in the food processor until nice and small (no one wants lumpy aioli!).

Next, add the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and pepper but DON’T turn on the blender yet! Get your olive oil ready. When you are ready add the olive oil in a steady, thin stream while pulsing the food processor. As soon as all the olive oil has been added, stop pulsing. You are making an emulsion here, so over mixing can cause it to “break” and separate.

If you’d like to add fresh herbs, chop them finely and gently fold them in at this point.

That’s it! You just made mayonnaise! It really is SO easy and the possibilities are endless. I’m thinking basil (pesto aioli with fresh tomatoes??), fresh parsley or even thyme and sage for a tasty chicken salad?

Homemade aioli, unlike the big vats of mayo at the grocery store, is fresh and is best consumed within a couple of days. Be sure to store in a lidded container and keep refrigerated.

Garlic Scape Pesto

1/2 lb. organic scapes (chopped into 1″ sections)
1 c. organic olive oil
2 c. grated parmesan cheese
In a blender, combine the scapes and olive oil. Pour mixture into bowl and blend the cheese in by hand.

Garlicky Swiss Chard and Chickpeas

Yield: makes 6 servings

Garlicky Swiss Chard and Chickpeas

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

2 bunches Swiss chard, center stems cut out and discarded and leaves coarsely chopped

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)

2 medium shallots, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)6 medium garlic cloves, minced

15.5 ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, optional

Instructions

In a larges skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add half of hte chard and cook, 1 to 2 minutes. When the first half has wilted, add the remaining chard. When all of the chard is wilted, add the chicken broth. Cover the skillet and cook the chard until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the chard through a fine sieve (strainer) and set it aside.
Wipe out the skillet and heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring, until they are softened, about 2 minutes. Add the chard and chickpeas and cook until heated through, 3 to 4 minutes. Drizzle the lemon juice over the mixture and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle cheese on top just before serving, if desired.

recipe from The Recipe Girl Cookbook

SWISS CHARD PANCAKES recipe from Dorie Greenspan

This makes a lot of pancakes, but they freeze perfectly, so I always make the full recipe. If you think this is going to be too much for you, cut the recipe in half and use 1 egg and 1 yolk.

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk
2½ cups all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 shallot, coarsely chopped, rinsed, and patted dry
2 garlic cloves, split, germ removed, and coarsely chopped
Leaves from 10 parsley sprigs
10 fresh chives, snipped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
5 large or 10 small Swiss chard leaves, center ribs removed, washed, and dried
About ½ cup grapeseed, peanut, or vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil, and line a plate with paper towels.
2. Put everything except the Swiss chard and oil in a blender or food processor, making sure you season the mix generously with salt and pepper, and whir until the batter is smooth. (If your machine won’t handle this quantity, work in batches.) Little by little, add the chard to the mix and whir to incorporate it. There’s no need to pulverize the chard — having some strands is nice.
3. Pour ¼ to ½ inch of oil into a large skillet and place the skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot (a drop of batter should seize immediately), spoon in a scant ¼ cup batter for each pancake — don’t crowd the pan: depending on the size of the pan, 4 pancakes is probably max per batch. Cook the pancakes for about 3 minutes, until the underside is nicely browned and the edges are browned and curled. Flip the pancakes over and cook for another 2 minutes or so. Transfer the pancakes to the paper-towel-lined plate, cover with more towels, and pat off the excess oil. Place them on the foil-lined baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while you continue to make pancakes, adding more oil to the pan as needed.
Serving:Traditionally, farçous are served with a salad as a main course, but you could serve fewer per portion as a starter or omit the salad and serve them as a side dish. If you want to serve thefarçous as an hors d’oeuvre, you might want to include a dipping sauce or topping of crème fraîche,cervelle de canut, or plain yogurt. You might also think about drizzling them with a little basil or parsley coulis— they don’t really need the coulis, but it’s a good combination.
Storing:You can make the farçous a few hours ahead, keep them covered at room temperature, and reheat them in a conventional oven or microwave before serving. Or you can pack them airtight (make sure to separate them with small squares of wax or parchment paper) and freeze them, then reheat as needed.

Swiss Chard Lasagna
Serves 6 to 8

You can sub in 2 pounds of frozen spinach for the Swiss chard if you really need to make this a pantry/freezer dish. This is going to sound nuts, but you can also go really light on the pasta. Simply space the pasta sheets a bit further apart in the dish – you can get away with 2 sheets per layer and you won’t even be able to tell it’s a lower-carb lasagna.

Ingredients

For the sauce:
About 20 basil leaves
4 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
One 28-ounce can tomatoes

For the greens:
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 bunches swiss chard, washed, stems trimmed, and cut into ribbons
Zest from half a lemon
1/4 cup white wine
3/4 teaspoon salt
juice from half a 1/2 lemon

For the cheese and lasagna:
One 15 or 16-ounce container of whole milk ricotta
1 1/3 cup grated parmesan (5 ounces)
8 ounces (1/2 pound) fresh mozzarella, finely chopped
8 ounces (1/2 pound) low moisture mozzarella, grated
2 eggs
Lots of freshly ground pepper
About 3/4 pound lasagna noodles

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Make the sauce. Place the basil and garlic in the food process and pulse til finely chopped. Add the tomatoes and salt and blend until smooth.

For the greens: in a large saucepan with a lid, sauté the garlic in oil until golden over medium heat. Add the chard and lower the heat. Toss the chard with the garlic and oil, then cover for 4 minutes, until the leaves are wilted. Take off the lid and add the lemon zest, white wine and salt. Let most of the liquid cook off. Add the lemon juice. Stir, then set aside to cool slightly.

For the cheese filling: reserve 1 cup of the fresh mozzarella. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, 1 cup parmesan, the rest of the mozz, the eggs, and lots of pepper. Mix well.

Now you’ve got to put the stuff in your lasagna pan, in this order:

1/2 cup sauce
1 layer noodles–enough to cover the sauce, leaving at least 1/2 inch in between each noodle
Half of the cheese filling, spread evenly
Half of the Swiss chard, scattered evenly
1 cup sauce
1 layer noodles
The second half of the cheese
Second half of the spinach
1 layer noodles
1 cup sauce
Remaining 1 cup mozzarella
Remaining 1/3 cup grated Parmesan

Bake, covered in foil, for 45 minutes. Place a baking sheet beneath to catch drippings. Remove the foil and let the lasagna cook for 20 more minutes.

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and then the rain finally came…..(a forgotten post……)

Posted in Garden Update on August 6, 2012| Leave a Comment »

relief!

The first rain in over 1 month……

Well, we made it!!!!! The rain came. I actually had to cry a bit as the rain drops fell. I don’t think I realized how much anxiety was held inside without rain for over 1 month. It was a dry windy difficult day and we made the decision to hand water the pumpkins and winter squash as their leaves were flopping like big elephant ears in the hot breeze. The drip line irrigation was doing it’s job but it just was not enough in all the heat and wind. And then the long wonderful rain came at suppertime that day and again the following day too. Relief on so many levels for us, the plants and the land. Everything looks so perky, the grass greened up before our eyes-Really! The watermelons doubled in size and the pepper plants grew tall overnight. All quite amazing. The frogs in the pond sung to one another all night long and the next morning I felt like we stood a few inches taller with straight backs and strong shoulders.

So, with the rain came cooler temperatures and we were able to get many more crops in the garden that were waiting for transplant in the greenhouse. Fennel, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower. I was afraid to transplant in the extreme heat and dry soil. We will get another round of carrots seeds planted today and hopefully beets too. Both these vegetables do not germinate well in high heat. A 5th planting of beans have just poked their noses out of the ground. The new summer squash patch is doing really well and the tomatoes have started to ripen. We have started to dig the potatoes and WOW!!! I think it will be our best crop ever!! All the transplanted lettuce has really responded to the moisture and is growing big and juicy under the row cover. I believe we are on the other side of the carnage in the summer squash patch. 17 plants went down and 7 remain…..no fatalities in a few days. We will be on summer squash rationing until the new patch is up and producing in about a month. All CSA boxes received some sort of squash this week but not in the bounty that we planned. The big surprise for us is the abundance of Eggplant this year and oh so early. What a difference from last year when we had to put row cover up in double thickness and hope to get something before the hard frost.

Now somehow we have to find time to weed!!!! They too have shot up everywhere with the moisture.

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Garden News

Posted in Garden Update on July 30, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Life has been pretty good around here with the rain. It sure does change everything. The crisis seems to be over for us. We have more time now that we do not have to water or think about what needs water 24 hours a day…..also it feels really nice not to have that constant worry floating around in our heads….

Many of the Fall Crops went in this week and many more to get in yet. It is almost as if we are planting a whole new second garden! I peeked at the watermelon patch this week in detail and there are many of the beauties out there. I even kinda jumped the gun and picked a tiny little one that seemed ready. Well, it hardly had any pink tone to it at all. Maeve nibbled on it for a bit and said “not bad”.

Lettuce is looking really good. we have one more planting of about 300 ready to be transplanted out of all the heat tolerant varieties and in about 2-3 weeks I will start seeding in colder varieties. We even have 3 varieties that are suppose to be extremely cold tolerant that I am excited to try this year for the first time for the storage box shares. We opted to omit lettuce from this weeks box to let it size up just a bit more. The cooler nights have been helpful and we are not loosing so many heads to bolting.

The Tomatoes look wonderful. I forgot how much I enjoy picking tomatoes at the beginning of the season. I LOVE! the smell of the vines. The plants are loaded and the slicers are just starting to color. If anyone needs or wants canning boxes please let us know. I think I may have mentioned that soon we will be harvesting over 100 pounds a day and this gets a bit overwhelming at times.

A photo from last year’s harvest. What a bounty.

We also have an interesting visitor or two every year of this amazingly pretty and damaging caterpillar. They sure can chomp away. Leaves and tomatoes both. We spot the evidence that they have moved in and find them quickly. I am sure it would be pretty devastating to the crop in short order if they were not removed.

Our focus this week is the weeds….they to have flourished with all the rain. Several years ago we had this really great idea to get a primo huge load of horse manure for the garden in the Autumn. Well, we are still paying the price for this really good idea. This load was loaded with weed seed that we have never seen before as well as foxtail grass. It is difficult to get on the other side of this great decision. Never again will we do this. Also, there is an interesting “gourmet” weed called purslane that really likes it here. It is an edible succulent herb very high in vitamin C and rich in Omega Fatty Acids. A spicy taste and really great on salads and sandwiches. If anyone would like to try it let me know as we have TONS!….I just can’t bring myself to include it in the boxes even though I have seen other CSA’s include it in their offering. It is extremely fast growing and is considered an invasive species.

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Hot Garden Report

Posted in Garden Update on July 16, 2012| Leave a Comment »

We have not had any rain here since May 26th and that was recorded as just under a half inch in our rain gage. It was already dry at that point and we were optimistic that rain would come soon. Here we are today with nothing from the sky and Scott just checked the meter and we have irrigated 340,000 gallons of water. Gardening without rain and extreme dry heat has given us a few challenges. Scott and I each had our separate “freak out” days last week about these challenges and difficulties. We quickly regrouped and powered on. It is exhausting to garden in the heat and we are limited to what we can do…..watering takes up much of our time. So, I think we were feeling we were slipping a bit behind and do to situations out of our control that we could not fix or change…. I think the garden heard we were weary and really showed us this week that it is all worth the effort. A huge bounty of quality produce. We are amazed and grateful and a bit proud too.

Maeve always adds a bit of humor and fun to our days….she was dressing for a “Gala Ball” while we were prepping boxes.

The beans are doing wonderful. We pulled the first planting yesterday and will replant a 4th rotation here this week. The second rotation is in full swing and the 3rd just about to start. Our broccoli plants sent out tons of wonderful side shoots after cutting and we are able to provide almost a pound to everyone of these tasty treats in this weeks box. 3 weeks of broccoli! We made the decision to cut most of the cauliflower. It really does not like heat and we are thrilled that we have cauliflower at all this year! The variety is called Amazing which is kinda funny to me….Weather reports tell us it is going to be another long hot dry week so we felt this was the best decision no matter the head size. We feared the heads would become “rice like” and not be of good quality. Another planting is started in the greenhouse for Autumn harvest so hopefully it will appear again at the end of the season with more substantial head size.

Take a look at the Watermelon Patch. WOW!

My favorite watermelon Ali Baba forming…..

The watermelon patch is loaded with tons of little baby watermelon forming….It is really pretty to look at and Scott makes sure that it is watered constantly. Another big goal was to have a wonderful watermelon harvest this year and we are well on our way.

Beautiful fruit hanging from the plant.

The eggplant has just started ripening….we harvested 15 and they are in the “extra box” this week. The plants are heathy and covered with beautiful velvety flowers. What a change from last year when we had to add hoops and cover the row to keep it warm in hopes that we would get something before the frost.

An heirloom beauty just about ready for picking.

Tomatoes are around the corner……..And there is a bounty out there!

Cherry Tomatoes.

I think next week these tomato wonders will be in the boxes. I can’t wait!

We are still having trouble with the zucchini patch. It appears the squash bugs and squash vine borers are visiting. We have lost 17 plants to this terrible pest. It is disappointing that we will not have the volume of this summer staple right now. However, we did see trouble on the horizon with this crop a little over 3 weeks ago and started new plants in the greenhouse immediately. We planted a new patch this week with the seedlings way WAY on the other side of the garden. We should have harvestable fruit in about a months time.

Our Fall crops look robust and determined….. lettuce rotations doing well too. It is a relief that so much looks so strong and healthy. It would just be nice to have a nice steady slow all night rain-take a deep breath and say “Phew, we made it”. Hopefully this week there will be a bit of relief.

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HOT!!!!

Posted in Garden Update on July 1, 2012| 1 Comment »

What more can you say these days…….it is HOT! It seems this weather will be with us for awhile. So far we are staying on top of it all. We have many transplants in the greenhouse ready to go out into the garden and we are a bit fearful to transplant with 99 degrees forecasted for the end of the week. Scott and I are figuring out the best plan of action. Our irrigation is on around the clock somewhere in the garden and we have areas that we must use overhead sprinklers which get turned on after supper and dragged around until bedtime…..We made the decision to pull out all the peas as the yield was so very low and the vines completely stopped flowering in all this heat. With the extended weather forecast of more extreme heat on the way it seemed pointless to keep watering the vines. The area has been cleaned up and tilled and this is where the pumpkins and winter squash will be allowed to wander as the vines grow longer.

The tomatoes continue to grow inches each and every day and the eggplant is looking wonderful. The first cucumbers are appearing and Maeve eats them as fast as we can pick them from the vine. We will start picking beans this week and zucchini will actually appear in the boxes this week. Scott has started pulling the garlic and as soon as this bed is cleared out it will be prepped for sunflowers. We are thrilled with our broccoli crop this year it is big healthy and delicious. We have a second crop ready in the greenhouse to be transplanted out and will even attempt a 3rd planting of a variety that is extremely cold tolerant. As I have mentioned before we have never been very successful with broccoli in the past and this was one of our main goals with this season. The onions have started to bulb up with change in day length and our huge crop of several varieties look great. We realized that we needed to get them weeded out a bit this week and have been spending any spare time we have in this area…..As I was weeding away 1 hot hot! afternoon the phrase “work my fingers to the bone” crossed my mind. The dry coarse soil and close detail work pulling between all the onions was a little rough. Scott took a picture of me (and my hands) because I looked so pretty when I came in….enjoy!

Pretty Jennifer after weeding a bowling alley length of carrots and a football field length of onions on a pleasant 95+ degree day.

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Garden Report

Posted in Garden Update, tagged garden, plants, weather on June 25, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Photo taken last year on June 23rd! It is a completely different growing season this year.

I was looking through photos the other night and was surprised to see that this was what life was like a year ago. The tomato plants are in the background at knee height and I do remember too that were were wearing long john’s that day. Lots and lots of rain and oh so cold. Different challenges this year!

No significant rain this week at all. Irrigation and sprinklers run around the clock and it seems the watering schedule takes up much of our physical and mental time. Scott is on top of it all and everything is really thriving. Tomato plants are growing several inches every day and love the overnight warm temperatures. The plants are huge, deep green and healthy. I am sure we will all be eating tomatoes soon. At the height of the season we will be harvesting over 100 pounds a day! Curious what this years favorite variety will be….?

Tomatoes on the vine.

The tomato patch.

Cucumber plants beginning to trellis.

We have started to pick a few summer squash this week and the plants are covered with rich buttery blossoms, and our first planting of green beans should be in full swing next week producing buckets full of crunchy beans. We have 3 different rotations in the ground now and may plant 1 or 2 more just for fun and have beans all summer long. I have lofty canning goals this summer! The cucumber vines have started to flower and look strong and healthy. Many of our fellow gardening friends have reported terrible problems with cucumber beetle this year. Gratefully these pests decided not to visit us.

Scott and Malachi harvesting the broccoli for the CSA

We are happy to report that the broccoli is starting to head up!!!! We have had a terrible time with broccoli in the past and our number 1 goal this year is……Good Broccoli and Lots!!! of it too. We did much research over the Winter. So, we planted 2 early varieties to play it safe-a cool variety and a heat tolerant variety. Scott studied up on reflective mulch (which looks like tin foil). The plants grew well in the “tin foil”, kept the bugs away too and we provided much irrigation. I was sure that the cool season variety would just give up with this prolonged heat, but here it is! I am so glad. Smaller head size, but wonderful flavor. We will also be planting 2 Fall Broccoli varieties this season.

The Sweet peas are handling the heat much better than expected. They main vines are shorter this year but the flowers stems are long and blossoms large. We pick every other day and the vines are loaded with these sweet old fashioned beauties.

Pretty Sweet Peas.

The eggplant is flowering and we have opted to pinch off these early blooms-the plants are short and not fully developed. We can’t image the plants holding the load of a big purple eggplant! Many of our ornamental crops and flowers are also flowering on short short stems. My favorite lime green celosia is about 4 inches tall max! What a disappointment. About all I could make is itty bitty “shot glass” bouquets with these blooms. Our peppers are wanting to flower too and we are removing these blooms.

We have started to harvest some of the early garlic and it is sure tasty! Odd to be digging it when we cut of the last of the garlic scapes a week ago on the later varieties. I do think it is going to to be a compressed season of harvest. The plants seem rushed almost in this heat.

Every season is different and has it’s own unique challenges. This fact sure became apparent to me when I saw the picture of last year at this time. We adapt and change our perspective, have a positive attitude and water on……

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Coconut Cilantro Rice

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{mustard glazed chinese cabbage}[gluten-free]

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Chinese Cabbage & Fennel Salad

Box 3 June 17th

and then the rain finally came…..(a forgotten post……)

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HOT!!!!

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