Wednesday, August 24, 2011

This week in the box...

Greetings to all on this beautiful summer day! We are headed off to the beach for the afternoon for some family splashing, but I wanted to make some quick comments about this week on the farm.

I tested one of the melons and was delighted to discover that we are very close to having them in the box. They need another week or so and then you will be seeing them. I don't know if ripening will occur in such a way to allow everyone to have one at the same time or if I need to break that up, but rest assured everyone will get to try some interesting varieties. The one I tested was a beautiful 8 pounder with almost white flesh called Cream of Saskatchewan. Very juicy and sweet already with a hint of citrus. The cold of the spring has made our harvest of them later than I had hoped, but I'm excited for us to enjoy them together!

In the box:
-Eggplant
-Tomatoes
-Summer Squash/Zucchini
-Cucumber/Sweet pepper
-onions
-Kale
-Herbs

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Recipe - Breakfast Sandwich Frittata

Are you wondering sometimes what to do with your lesser-known herbs each week like Dill, Thyme or Parsley? Here's a quick egg recipe that is easy to make and also generic enough to use any herb of your choice. You could also add any kind of meat, cheese or veggie you had on hand to change this up.

- 5 large eggs
-1/4 cup cream or half&half
-1/4 cup milk
-3 tbsp mixed chopped herbs
-2/3 cup grated sharp Cheddar
-2 slices bacon
-1 pita, split into two rounds
-cayenne, black pepper & salt to taste

Preheat oven to 425. Whisk eggs, cream, milk, herbs, seasonings, and half the cheese. In an ovenproof nonstick or cast iron skillet, cooked bacon and add to the egg mixture when crisp. Use a small amount of the bacon drippings left in the skillet to brown the each of the pita rounds. Remove the first half from the skillet and transfer to a plate while the other cooks. Leave that one in the skillet when it is browned on both sides. Pour the egg mixture onto the browned pita and half the cheese. Top with the other browned pita half and bake for 8 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake until golden and puffed. Cut into wedges and serve warm.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

News from the farm - Early August

Peak summer is here and the bulk of our produce is coming in. In this weeks box:

-Swiss Chard or Kale
-Zucchini or Summer Squash
-Lemon or regular Cucumbers
-Herbs
-Onion
-New Potatoes
-Eggplant or Pepper
-Fresh Garlic

A few notes about some of the new items.
- The Zucchini and Summer Squash may be in varied shaped, but the flavors and the same and they are interchangeable in recipes. So whichever shape you receive enjoy their beautiful shapes and colors as part of the bounty of summer.

- New potatoes are coming in and we are growing several colors again this year. They all are delicious and in a dish are as beautiful as they are healthy. Since they are newly dug and relatively thin skinned, they can't be left out like you might be used to-they have to be refrigerated or they will get soft.

-Tomatoes are starting to come in; tiny ones first and then the bigger ones are ripening finally. Sometimes they can have small cracks in them. This is caused by rapid intake of water when it rains and the skin of the tomato not having time to expand before the inner part expands. For the most part, they are still perfect but you may want to use them first as they will not keep as long. As a general note, bigger tomatoes need to e stored on their tops as this is the firmest part of the tomato.