Sunday, September 18, 2016

September 20th and 23rd

Putting the Animals to Work 

Puffa...prepping the the root washer.

Simon...performing a quality control taste test on the corn.

Simon...managing our green bean harvest.


This is the Sandy Field.  It has held a multitude of your food this year.  And although it's the sandiest field we have (hence the name), it has performed quite well this year despite the dry.  When soil becomes overly dry, it is actually sand that can adsorb and hold any bit of moisture we put to it, verses our more clayey soils.  In clay, the drier it gets, the tighter the soil becomes, losing any air space between soil particles as well as space to hold water.  It seems a bit counter intuitive, but this year has been a visual proof.

From the Sandy Field we are currently picking green beans, chard and kale.  And soon spinach, hakurei turnips, cabbage, chinese cabbage and broccoli.  There is also a gorgeous planting of cauliflower and romanesco, which we HOPE will make a nice head before it gets too cold.  Even though this soil can hold a bit of moisture, crops are still a week or so behind.  Since this year was so dry, we've had to do extra work to get many of the crops to perform: overseeding, irrigation, row cover protection, extra nutrients...  A LOT of energy and love go into ALL the crops we grow and to see things thrive is a glorious feeling.  I find myself holding my breath this year, just hoping the last of the harvest will be just as we'd hoped.


This Week's Bounty: lettuce, celery, carrots, cabbage, onion, tomato, pepper, corn, green beans 

The Farmer's Table:

  
 Spiralized Tater fries, pulled pork with cole slaw, cherry tomato salad.


Pepper, Tomato and Sausage "stuff" with sausage and kale.  I think he sauteed the peppers and sausage and then stewed the tomatoes with olive oil and salt and then mixed it altogether.  Yum!!! oh, and those are smoked jalapenos in the background.


This is chopped up onion, pepper and celery (the Holy Trinity of Cajun cooking)...the start to etouffee


From the Shareholder's Table:


Thai style cabbage
Combine about 12 cups shredded cabbage with 1/2 cup chopped peanuts and 1 cup chopped mint (cilantro works nicely as a substitute). Combine 3 tablespoons fish sauce, 1-2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon neutral oil, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, the juice of a lime, and some minced hot chili to taste. Whisk to combine the sauce, then toss with the cabbage. 

A simply tasty meal from LRF food!