NICK’S FARM REPORT
August 13, 2010
Greetings to everyone, and we are hoping that you are finding creative ways to beat the heat this week. As I write this, we’re watching the lightening and rain out of our living room window, so maybe we are in for some cooler weather in the next few days. At least it is cool right now, anyways!
The featured item in your bags this week is the TOMATO, a fruit that has just started ripening in earnest. If all goes well, and if we avoid the late-season diseases to which tomatoes are so susceptible, we hope to be providing many more tomatoes in weeks to come. You’ll notice that we grow tomatoes of all shapes and sizes – some which are ripe when golden, and some, when red; some are pear shaped, some are more fleshy than others, some stay small and some grow to be giants.
You may ask, why do we grow all these different tomato varieties? Where do they even come from? Most of the tomatoes that we grow are varieties known as “heirloom” – varieties which have been known to breed true for more than 50 years. There are heirloom varieties of every vegetable and fruit known to humans! These seeds have been passed down through families, between neighbors, and across oceans as immigrants to the US have brought with them their most beloved vegetables from the old country.
Often, heirloom varieties have been found unsuitable for large-scale production, because of irregular shape and size, ability to withstand shipping, or for having a shorter shelf life. However, we think heirloom varieties are super, and we are not alone! Heirloom varieties often yield fruits or leaves that are funky shapes and colors, which just makes them fun to grow. In addition, heirlooms offer a wider variety of delicious flavors, vegetables suitable for specific purposes (like the Amish Paste tomato), and vegetables that can do very well in small scale production. Heirlooms can also have regional disease resistance, heat tolerance or drought tolerance, that makes them especially suited for specific regions.
The potatoes in your bag this week are “German Butterball”, a variety that we got from the Baker Creek Seed Company this spring. Baker Creek not only provides a huge selection of heirloom seeds, but is also committed to discovering and propagating new and lost varieties of heirlooms. Their catalogs are amazing to look at, even if you’re not buying anything. We’d highly suggest checking them out!
In the CSA Bag This Week:
German Butterball potatoes – These potatoes have been partially cured, and will store for a few weeks in a cool place. They should be eaten as a new potato, however, as they have not been fully cured!
Cippolini Onions –These onions have not been cured, so they should be stored in the fridge and used within a few weeks.
Tokyo Bekana – This bright green, delicate mustard can be included in salads as a raw green, as an excellent substitute for lettuce. Store in a plastic bag in the fridge.
Baby beets and greens – These baby beet greens are tender and delicious, and can be sautéed or used as a salad green. The baby beets can be grilled, boiled, steamed, or roasted in a 350°F oven until tender. We recommend removing the baby beets from the greens and storing both separately, in your fridge, in a plastic bag.
Tomatoes – Store tomatoes on your kitchen counter. See the recipes for gazpacho!
Green Peppers – Store in your fridge.
Slicing cucumbers – Cucumbers keep best in the warm part of your fridge.
Summer Squash – These also store best in the warmer parts of your fridge.
Before we get to the recipes, let me first just say that many of the recipes, serving, and storing suggestions from the newsletter are lifted directly from my mother’s kitchen. She is an amazing cook who relishes vegetables like none else I know, and has fostered a great love for veggies in both myself and my sister over the years. One of my favorite dishes she makes in the summer is gazpacho. This year, she has tried a recipe slightly different from the one she made when we were little – I think it’s great, and have included both the classic and modern recipes for your enjoyment! - Becky
Mom’s Classic Gazpacho
(from the Moosewood Cookbook)
4 cups cold tomato juice
1 small, minced onion
2 cups freshly diced tomatoes
1 cup minced green pepper
1 tsp. honey
1 clove crushed garlic
1 diced cucumber
juice of 1/2 lemon and/or 1 lime
2 Tbs. wine vinegar
dash of ground cumin
dash of tabasco sauce
2 Tbs. olive oil
Salt & black pepper to taste
1 tsp. basil dill, parsley, or other fresh herbs, if desired
Combine all ingredients, puree, and chill for at least 2 hours.
Mom’s Modern Gazpacho
(from the Wall Street Journal)
3 large tomatoes, cored and chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 bell pepper, cored and chopped
4-5 inches stale baguette, no crust
1 small garlic clove
1/3 c. olive oil
2 tsp sherry or red wine vinegar
½ tsp salt
(Tomatoes and peppers can be roasted beforehand if desired)
1. Soak the bread in cold water for 10 minutes.
2. Peel the garlic and chop in a blender until finely minced.
3. Squeeze as much water out of the bread as possible, and add it to the blender, along with the cucumber.
4. Blend until smooth, adding a little olive oil if the mixture does not liquefy.
5. Once smooth, add peppers and blend again until smooth.
6. Add tomatoes, oil, sherry or vinegar, and salt, and blend.
No comments:
Post a Comment