Blue Gate Farm News – Volume VII , Number 8 – July 22, 2008
In
this week’s box:
Beans:
Mixed- Carson (yellow) and Empress (green)
Beets:
Blankoma (white),
Peppers:
Islander (purple) or Ace (green to red)
Broccoli:
Pac Man florets
or
Cherry
Tomatoes: Juliet (oblong, red) Golden Rave (oblong, yellow)
or
Cucumber:
Lemon (round, yellow)
or
Peas: Sugar Snap (round pod), Snow (flat pod) or
Shell (inedible pod, bag is labeled)
or
Zucchini: Eight Ball (green, round), Sebring
(yellow) or Patty Pan
For
those with the Egg option: one dozen free-range eggs (assorted colors)
For
those with the Herb option: Basil: Italian Large Leaf, Chives, Sorrel
Featured Recipe(s)
(see below): Summer Garden Pasta
Rain this week: 2.5 ” (from 7/15 - 7/21)
What’s up on the farm?
We’ve had an active week here on the
farm, with several days of dry weather last week we pushed to get several of
our beds weeded for the first time. We
were pleased to find just enough ripe peppers to add into your boxes this week,
hopefully there will be many more to come in the near future. We finally had to admit failure on several
rows of winter squash. All we had left
were rows of nasturtiums, which we interplant with squash as a deterrent to the
squash bugs. So those rows were all
mowed down and are ready for new crops. We
also worked on getting new sowings into a number of empty beds. We planted three kinds of beans, edamame, chard, braising mix and transplanted the new
cucumbers. Hopefully all will come along
quickly with the plentiful moisture; the braising mix is already starting to
germinate, so that is a good sign.
This time of year we tend to see
quite a bit of wildlife around the farm. Lots of deer are passing through again, now
that the fawns have grown a bit. We
regularly see Great Blue Herons flying low over the gardens on route to the area
ponds. We had a near-miss with a skunk who appears to live in the hedgerow along our lane,
fortunately we were able to convince Blue that there was something much more
interesting on the opposite side and while we could smell the eau de skunk on
the breeze, it appeared to miss the dog entirely. Monday evening there was a ruckus in the
chicken yard (never a good sign) and we ran out to find a badger trotting
around the inside of the fence, looking for a way out. They are funny looking creatures if you’ve
never seen one, a bit like a masked footstool on short legs. There was no sign that it had harmed any of
the birds, but it certainly had the ability to do so. We will have to keep a diligent eye out for
the next week or so to ensure he doesn’t come back to visit.
Honey production at the farm is
slower this year than we would like but we will take our first harvest this coming
week. Those members with the honey
options can choose between comb or liquid delivery for
next week (which, in looking back is the exact same week we began honey
deliveries last summer). Thereafter we’ll
deliver every three weeks.
You’ll see we have the very first of
the year’s tomatoes making it into a few boxes this week. Don’t worry, there will be plenty in the weeks
to come, but they always start out a little slow.
This week’s recipe was a chance discovery one night last week when we
had just a few pieces of several different vegetables in the kitchen and were
hungry for pasta. The result was such a nice surprise that we wanted to share with
you.
Best from the farm,
Jill & Sean
Small bunch young beets,
assorted colors with greens
1 tbs
Olive Oil
1 tsp garlic, minced or
garlic scapes, chopped
1 cup Romano Beans, or other
fresh beans, stemmed and snapped
2 tbs
Dried Tomatoes, chopped
2-4 Small Fresh tomatoes,
chopped
Feta Cheese. crumbled
1 tbs
Balsamic vinegar
Penne pasta
Prepare pasta according to
directions.
While pasta is cooking, separate
beets from greens (discard stems), cut beets into quarters or eighths and
cut beet greens into a chiffonade.
Place dried tomatoes into a
small heat-proof dish. When pasta is about half done, take 2 tbs of pasta water and pour over dried tomatoes to
re-hydrate.
Place olive oil, garlic,
beets and beans into a sauté pan over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring
often. Remove dried tomatoes from liquid (reserving liquid) and add tomatoes to
sauté pan along with beet greens. Cook until greens are wilted and bright
green. Remove from heat.
Place pasta in a serving bowl, add sauted vegetables, fresh
tomatoes and feta cheese. Sprinkle with reserved water from dried tomatoes and
balsamic vinegar, toss gently to coat.
This recipe serves two as a
main dish, but us easy to multiply to feed any number.
Recipe source: Blue Gate Farm