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The Harvest:
- Watermelons - After we had a hard time giving away giant 40lb + watermelons to the CSA last season, we tried some smaller varieties this year: Charleston Gray and Sugar Baby (pictured on left).
- Turnip Greens (not pictured) - Our first fall greens! These turnip greens are early, therefore they're strong due to the hot weather. There are ways to make them milder -- see recipes below.
- Peppers -Sweet peppers and hot peppers.
- Cucumbers - All the cukes you can handle...
- Celery - Now that the celery has had more water, the flavor is intense, but smoother than early in the season. Still best as a flavoring celery now, but will sweeten up in the fall.
- Tomatoes
- Our tomatoes are still coming in, but many are split this week
due to the rain. Rain is good. Split tomatoes are good too!
- Yellow
Squash
- Basil
- Garlic
- Flowers
Organic Chicken from
Bells Bend will be available at the Farm pick up and by order this
week. Truly free-range and fed organic, local feed, these birds are not
only incredibly delicious, but incredibly local! Either pick up
chickens at farm on Tuesday from 4-6 pm or contact Fletcher at FletchersPoultry@gmail.com. East
Nashville pick up can order in advance for Wednesday. Chickens are
whole and are $5/lb.
News from the Farm
Saving seed has been somewhat of an inconvenience for us this year, but I'm hopeful that it will all be worth it. Saving seed has several desired results. Seed is saved from plants selected for desirable traits. An example would be seed from a butternut squash that stored the longest over the winter and through the following spring. Another example would be seed saved from a lettuce plant that grows unusually large and does not go to seed/turn bitter in hot weather. Cross pollination has to be avoided and only open-pollinated, non-hybrid strains can be saved. Currently, most farmers buy seed from companies based in Main, Vermont, California--far from our region. Saving seed from vegetable varieties that do well in our area strengthens those strains, as they adapt to our unique micro-climate. Several of the varieties we are saving are also heirlooms, or those varieties that have been passed down from generation to generation until they become their own unique variety. These are some of the best vegetable varieties we grow, as they have been grown in our area for a long time. They are resistant to the heat, diseases, and pests, that damage other plants.
As I said, however, saving seed can be an inconvenience. This year for example, our chard, celery, and kale all went to seed in the middle of the garden. Little did we know, but this meant waiting until the seed finally matured in July to remove the over-wintered plants (and LOTS of weeds) from the field when we could be growing something else there! On the positive side, the seed we saved is larger and of such higher quality than non-local seed that we believe the plants will be healthier and better adapted as well.
We are currently planting several of the seeds we saved this year, which will grow into our fall/winter garden. We have been composting a special potting mix that will give the seedlings the nutrients they need and a healthy start. The potting soil is put into plastic seeding trays that make transplanting the young seedlings easy.
Cabbages and various fall veggies growing in subdivided cell-trays before being transplanted.
The seedlings are kept under a shade cloth, out of the sun's direct light and where they can be, literally, babied. Once these seedlings have 4-6 leaves they are transplanted into rows in the main fields, each plant being spaced between 6 and 18 inches, depending on the vegetable. Once in the field, the plants are constantly cultivated and hoed to aerate the roots, improve water drainage, and remove any competing weeds. Most of these fall veggies take a long time to mature -- lettuce takes about 60 days, carrots about 70, and cabbage takes between 70-100 days. It still seems odd starting any seedlings in this heat!
Your farmers,
Eric,
Brooke, George, Kevin, Peter, Evan, and more!
Recipes
Braised Bitter Greens
--A good recipe for these strong turnip greens
7 cups water
1.5 tsp salt
1/8-1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
2 oz pork sidemeat, diced (or a small ham hock)
4 tblspn bacon fat
1 tsp sugar
2 1/2 lbs greens - turnip, mustard, kale, collards, or a combination
garnishes:
crisp bacon bits, hard boiled eggs, sliced green onions, chopped fresh
cayenne, pepper sauce, or corn dumplings (see below)
Bring the water and seasonings to a boil over high heat and boil for
20 minutes. During this time wash the greens well. If the stems and
ribs are anything but small and tender, strip the leaf off and discard
the ribs and stems.
Add the greens to the pot, cover tightly, and bring back to a boil.
Uncover, stir down the leaves, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook about 1
hour. Remove greens from the pot, reserving the broth if required for
future use, and serve with any of the garnishes suggested above. The
well-seasoned broth is known as potlikker; it may be served with the
greens, reserved for another meal and poured over cornbread, or served
by itself (as every cuisine has its panaceas, southern wisdom strongly
recommends potlikker for bladder ailments and hangovers).
Vegetarian version: Start by browning "plenty" of onions in a
large pot, and add to that a small handful of chopped garlic and a few
tomatoes, coarsely chopped. Add your 7 cups of braising liquid; you
could substitute a cup or two of wine or beer to enhance the flavor of
your potlikker. Add salt, sugar, red pepper flakes to taste, and follow
directions above.
Indian Dumplings
These gnocchi-like cornmeal
dumplings are commonly cooked in a pot of greens, but may be added to
hearty stews or vegetable soups.
1 cup cornmeal
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup boiling water or stock from the greens
1 tsp bacon fat (optional)
Combine the dry ingredients in a
mixing bowl. Add the boiling liquid very slowly, working the meal well
with the back of a wooden spoon. Work in the bacon fat if desired. The
dough must be very thick, but wet enough to hold together without
cracking. Divide into 16 portions and shape into balls. Flatten into
circles approximately 1 inch across, and 3/8 inch thick. Edges should
be smooth, appearing as miniature biscuits. Place on top of bubbling
broth. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Serve with greens, or
along with the soup or stew.
Potato Rösti (Roesti) Recipe
* 2.2lbs of potatoes, boiled in their jackets the day before
* 2 to 3 tablespoons of butter
* 1 to 2 medium onions
* Salt to taste
Peel the cooked potatoes and grate them through a coarse grater. Slice
the onions into thin wedges. Melt the butter (please resist the
temptation to use oil as you will not have the same result!) in a
non-stick frying pan and add the onions and sweat them until they look
glassy and transparent. Add the grated potatoes and the salt and stir
through. Fry while stirring them around in the pan for about 3 to 5
minutes. Press together to form a flat cake and fry over medium heat
until there is a golden crust on the bottom. Place a serving platter on
the pan and turn the pan upside down, so the Roesti falls on the platter
with the crust on top. Alternatively, toss the roesti into the air and
flip it like a pancake back into the pan, then slide it onto the serving
platter and serve immediately.
From: http://www.cuisinedumonde.com/
roesti.html
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