Blue Gate Farm News – Volume VII , Number 16 – September 16, 2008
In
this week’s box:
Asian Pears
Beans: Carson/Empress Mix or Fortex Green Beans
or
Cucumber: Suyo Long
Sweet Onions: Ailsa Craig
Tapestry Salad Mix
or
Potatoes: Caribe or Red Gold
For
those with the Egg option: one dozen free-range eggs (assorted colors)
For
those with the Herb option: Basil: Genovese, fennel & chives
For
those with the Honey option: choice of comb or liquid
Featured Recipe(s) (see below): Asian
Pear Salad
Tangy Cucumbers and Sweet Onions
Rain this week: 4.40” (from 9/9 – 9/15)
What’s up on the farm?
There has
certainly been the feel of autumn in the air this past week. The fall flowers are in full bloom (as our
sneezing will illustrate) and less than a week ago was the first appearance of
the wild asters. First the tiny white
(also known as snow aster), then the light purple and finally in the past few
days we’ve seen the tall, dark purple blooms appear. We always watch for the start of the asters
blooming as the folk wisdom says the first frost occurs 20 days after the aster
flowers open. So twenty days from today
would be Oct 7th, which is the average first frost date for our
area. Hard to imagine that we are that
close to frost! Though the other signs
are clear too, the five leaf ivy is glowing red in the timber and the leaves on
the ash trees are starting to yellow. Another sign of fall is that the beans are
finally starting to slow down. I’m sure
you are all about ready for a break from beans, and this week some of you will
get one. I think we can get at least one
more week out of them, so if you don’t get beans this week, you likely will get
them next week for the last time.
This is a good
time of the year to have the high tunnel back in the rotation. All the crops recently sown in the tunnel are
up and looking good. We might get some of them into the boxes right at the end.
Speaking of the end, a few of you have
asked how much longer deliveries will continue. We are still targeting 20 weeks of deliveries,
so depending on the weather, we have about a month remaining.
Finally, we have a
very special treat this week. CSA member
Nancy J. has a couple of chemical-free Asian Pear
trees in her yard and offered to share them with the members. So last Tuesday following the delivery, Jill
and Nancy spent some quality time with a tall ladder and the fruit trees, while
Best from the farm,
Jill & Sean
Asian
Pear Salad
Serves
4-6
8
oz Asian
Pear (thin sliced)
8
oz Lettuce
with spinach
2
oz Crushed
walnuts or pine nuts
2
oz Blue
cheese crumbs
2
tbsp Your favorite salad dressing
On
a salad dish, make a bed with lettuce or spinach. On top of the lettuce bed,
spread with walnuts or pine nuts. Then arrange the Asian pear slices with a
sprinkling of blue cheese crumbs. Serve with your favorite salad dressing.
Include
thin slices of leftover beef, chicken, or pork to the salad. With some home
made bread, you have a complete meal.
Recipe Source: www.virginiagoldorchard.com
Tangy Cucumbers and Sweet
Onions
1 large Suyo Long cucumber or
2 medium cucumbers, peeled
1 small to medium sweet onion
2/3 c. cider or seasoned rice
vinegar
¼ c. water
2 – 4 tbs. sugar (to taste)
¼ - ½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 tbs chopped fresh fennel
leaves (or dill), optional
Thinly slice cucumbers and
onions. Separate onions into rings.
In a medium bowl with a tight
fitting lid, combine remaining ingredients. Stir until sugar and salt are
dissolved. Add cucumbers and onions to bowl and stir to coat. Seal lid and
place in refrigerator for at least an hour before using. We eat this as a side
dish, with the vegetables simply lifted out of the vinegar mixture when
serving. It can also be used as a
condiment on sandwiches & burgers, as a salad topping or chopped into egg,
chicken or ham salad.
Recipe Source: Blue Gate Farm