Monday, July 25, 2016

July 26th and 29th

Cukes and Zukes are In!

Yes these are yellow ZUCHINNI!!!!  Trust your farmer : )  Nice white buttery flesh.  Makes a beautiful pairing with the green varieties.  


I only grew pickling cucumber varieties this year, so any are great for refrigerator pickles or canning. And the yellow ones are AWESOME.  They turn from whitish to yellow to russet brown.  The more brown they are, the sweeter the inside.  The skin gets tougher and therefore make a perfect pickle or cooked cucumber.  (think roasted or sauteed or even a soup!)


The PYO flower garden is in full beauty! Be sure to cut yourself a bouquet, don't be shy!


PYO Blueberries.... there are 3 blueberry bushes by the PYO garden and they are meant for grazing on while enjoying the farm.  Please do not pick into containers, so that there is enough for all to have a handful.  

In the right hand corner of the garden is BASIL, CALENDULA and PARSLEY.  All are edible. There is regular sweet basil and there is also Sacred (or Holy) Basil.  It is the one with the purple flowers and makes a great sun tea.  Check out its amazing aroma!

The farm is looking beautiful despite missing all of the weekend's rain events.  Looks like we could get a shower tonight?!  A couple good things about it being dry is that it is easier to work and the disease pressure is low.  The downsides are that things aren't as sweet tasting, plants are still growing a bit slower than usual and it's harder to get fruit to ripen or bulb/head up.  I am most concerned about my fall crops like cabbage and potatoes...they certainly could be on the small side this year.  We will harvest garlic this week and it's the smallest I have ever grown.  The heads are as big as what one clove usually is for us!  They still taste amazing and it feels good to know the farm can still sustain some pretty amazing crops even if the moisture is at about 25% of its usual.  Eat it up!


This Week's Bounty: Romaine Lettuce, cabbage, hakurei, zukes, cukes, summer squash, mini purple onions, scallions, green beans, new potatoes (?) basil, parsley, dill, cilantro


Recipe Ideas:






July 26th and 29th

Cukes and Zukes are In!

Yes these are yellow ZUCHINNI!!!!  Trust your farmer : )  Nice white buttery flesh.  Makes a beautiful pairing with the green varieties.  


I only grew pickling cucumber varieties this year, so any are great for refrigerator pickles or canning. And the yellow ones are AWESOME.  They turn from whitish to yellow to russet brown.  The more brown they are, the sweeter the inside.  The skin gets tougher and therefore make a perfect pickle or cooked cucumber.  (think roasted or sauteed or even a soup!)


The PYO flower garden is in full beauty! Be sure to cut yourself a bouquet, don't be shy!


PYO Blueberries.... there are 3 blueberry bushes by the PYO garden and they are meant for grazing on while enjoying the farm.  Please do not pick into containers, so that there is enough for all to have a handful.  

In the right hand corner of the garden is BASIL, CALENDULA and PARSLEY.  All are edible. There is regular sweet basil and there is also Sacred (or Holy) Basil.  It is the one with the purple flowers and makes a great sun tea.  Check out its amazing aroma!

The farm is looking beautiful despite missing all of the weekend's rain events.  Looks like we could get a shower tonight?!  A couple good things about it being dry is that it is easier to work and the disease pressure is low.  The downsides are that things aren't as sweet tasting, plants are still growing a bit slower than usual and it's harder to get fruit to ripen or bulb/head up.  I am most concerned about my fall crops like cabbage and potatoes...they certainly could be on the small side this year.  We will harvest garlic this week and it's the smallest I have ever grown.  The heads are as big as what one clove usually is for us!  They still taste amazing and it feels good to know the farm can still sustain some pretty amazing crops even if the moisture is at about 25% of its usual.  Eat it up!


This Week's Bounty: Romaine Lettuce, cabbage, hakurei, zukes, cukes, summer squash, mini purple onions, scallions, green beans, new potatoes (?) basil, parsley, dill, cilantro


Recipe Ideas:






Sunday, July 17, 2016

July 19th and 22nd

A Misty Morning


I awoke this morning to rain softly falling.  It sounded so lovely, foreign almost.  So many times I have walked the farm this early summer and thought to myself "it already feels like August" ...perennials look tired, the grass is crispy, leaves are slightly yellow.  This morning was humid.  I walked around in shorts and a tank top, getting wet, but enjoying it.  I think I even heard the plants singing.




All the animals were up and tromping in the mist.  Getting some grub before the day's heat set in and the cool drops of rain evaporate.  The pigs and turkeys are never camera shy...the cows however, well, most were hiding in the barn...


 


Lots of new crops are on the horizon...cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, baby carrots!


This Week's Bounty: lettuce, kohl rabi, scallions, zuchinni/summer squash(?), kale, chard, hakurei turnip, sugar snap peas, parsley and basil 


July 19th and 22nd

A Misty Morning


I awoke this morning to rain softly falling.  It sounded so lovely, foreign almost.  So many times I have walked the farm this early summer and thought to myself "it already feels like August" ...perennials look tired, the grass is crispy, leaves are slightly yellow.  This morning was humid.  I walked around in shorts and a tank top, getting wet, but enjoying it.  I think I even heard the plants singing.




All the animals were up and tromping in the mist.  Getting some grub before the day's heat set in and the cool drops of rain evaporate.  The pigs and turkeys are never camera shy...the cows however, well, most were hiding in the barn...


 


Lots of new crops are on the horizon...cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, baby carrots!


This Week's Bounty: lettuce, kohl rabi, scallions, zuchinni/summer squash(?), kale, chard, hakurei turnip, sugar snap peas, parsley and basil 


Sunday, July 10, 2016

July 12th and 15th

Love of Food

Most people's blogs, facebook and photo albums are full of selfies.  Ours are full of pictures of food. Raw veggies, cooked dishes, plates of delectable meals, kitchen scenes and every once in awhile a person's face.  Even when we travel, you will be hard pressed to find a photo of us, but there will be zillions of the meals we indulged in, both at restaurants and on the grass of a park, scenes of markets and street vendors. 

It was meant to be, a farmer marrying a lover of food.  Although I was not a farmer when we first met, the universe knew we would be a perfect fit.  I know I have said before how lucky I am to have a husband who loves to cook.  Not only does he love to cook, but he is inventive and a genius at using whatever is in our fridge.  He rarely looks at a recipe and therefore is not lured into having to buy special ingredients for one meal.  I bring up tat soi, Spring Day cheese, turnips and greens, radish and their tops and he whips up chicken with cheesy grits and roasted veggies and greens.  I bring up radish, asparagus, peas and a few onions we decapitated while weeding and he whips up pork stir fry. It's a good thing too, I would waste away in the summer just eating raw veg while harvesting. 



The meals I make are more simple, straight forward and raw.  Sometimes it's because I am tired and want to cook something quick, but generally it's just because that's my personality.  My specialties are a quick saute of every veggie in sight, pasta primavera or veggies with peanut sauce.  I also like to bake and I make mean chocolate raspberry topping for ice cream.  This was my breakfast this morning.  Zach is not into pancakes, so I ate them all myself.  I am savoring the strawberries in every way I can.


This is a photo of Zach's favorite kitchen item, the Wok.  It cooks meat and veggies in a flash, keeping them crispy and super tasty.  


This is giardiniera Zach made last fall....and Italian condiment made of carrots, cauliflower, peppers and onions, vinegar. 


This is Zach showing that if you cut off the "silver skin" from steaks and other beef cuts, it make the meat much more flavorful and easier to eat after cooking.  

I won't bore you with our whole photo album, I think you get the picture. (Ah!)  I hope you all have as much fun eating your Little Ridge Farm food as we do!!!


This Week's Bounty: lettuce, arugula, chinese cabbage, beets, hakurei, scallions, snap peas and dill

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

July 5th and 8th

 PEA PICKIN'

 
Well for those who have been shareholders for several years, know that my peas season is very hit or miss.  This year I seeded them in 70 degree weather on Patriot's Day and they germinated beautifully! (and then they were ready for the 4th of July...they are a very patriotic bunch!).  We have picked all the shell peas, and now we start on the sugar snap peas.  Yum!  I was happy to hear how excited many of you were about receiving them...we spent many, many, many (like close to 30) man hours picking!!!!  Hence the delay on the blog....and now you know why we don;t grow more ; ) 


Today was a busy busy and really fun harvest day.  Lots of variety and good looking veggies.  The soil moisture has helped tremendously...both the crops and me!  It's so much more fun to be out there with dark soil and growing plants...I will even take the weeds and the humidity a bit for now.


Looking toward fall.  Yes, a farmer's mind always has to be several months out.  Planning crops now that will not be harvested until October.  I have seeded all of our winter storage carrots and in this photo are many of he fall broccoli and cabbages!


We are blessed with a beautiful field of milkweed in the back field and today during harvest we saw several monarchs flitting through the crops!


This Week's Bounty: lettuce, arugula, radish, hakurei turnip, tat soi, pac choi, chard, broccoli, shell peas, cilantro, parsley, basil snippets, storage carrots!