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The Harvest:
- Cantaloupe (Farm/E. Nashville pick up only) - Our first round of cantaloupes! This is a small, sweet, green and orange variety called "Rocky Ford".
- Potatoes - We're still trying to give away all of the newly-dug potatoes that will not store throughout the season due to slight imperfections (scratches, bruises, etc.) These potatoes are still delicious, just cut off any noticeable bad spots.
- Beans - Yard long, purple, and green beans.
- Cucumbers - All the cukes you can handle...
- Tomatoes - Our tomatoes are still coming in, but many are split this Saturday due to the rain. Rain is good. Split tomatoes are good too! Many of these tomatoes are also greener than usual. Just let them sit inside (do not refrigerate) for a few days and they'll ripen perfectly.
- Yellow
Squash
- Peppers
- Basil
- Rosemary
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.
Blueberries will
be
available for pre-order beginning this week. These incredible
blueberries are biodynamically/organically grown at Hidden Springs Farm
near Cookeville. These are the same blueberries we had last year and we
highly recommend them. Email us for order at
BellsBendFarmsCSA@gmail.com Cost is $6/pint
We will
also have blueberries for sale at the market.
News from the Farm
Several good things have happened in the last week. Most notably, we had two decent rains this past weekend! Many of our largest challenges this summer have stemmed from the lack of rainfall in our area. It is both humorous and frustrating that it always seems to rain heavily downtown, leaving our thirsty fields dry. Even more frustrating, yet still somewhat humorous, are the "rainless storms" that have been visiting us regularly. These teaser storms appear in full force, ominous and promising rain. After hanging around for a bit, the clouds and strong winds seem to just disappear, leaving us with dry fields and, to be frank, hurt feelings! Well, the clouds finally followed through this past weekend, or at least opened up, and we received enough rain to make a difference in the garden. The most beautiful part about it, however, was that there was almost no one at the farm to see the rain fall. We went on vacation.
Hard to believe, even for us, but it's true -- after the market on Saturday we planted a bunch of fall seed, packed up the camping gear, some corn and potatoes, the fiddle, banjo, and guitar, and headed east to Boone, North Carolina. Out of the 6 of us, only Brooke stayed behind to watch over the place (yes, she is taking her vacation this weekend). We spent the weekend and most of Monday in the mountains hiking, enjoying incredible 70-degree weather, and spending time with old friends (Kevin, Evan, Peter, and I all finished our undergraduate degrees at Appalachian State University in Boone).
A vacation right now is very important, as this August has felt similar to the last: overworked, overbooked, and hot! With 16 more weeks to go in the season, it's too early to start letting the August heat get to us. Some time in the mountains seems to balance things, bringing equilibrium at a much needed time. This week we will be trellising peppers, transplanting/planting lots of fall crops including carrots, beets, cabbage, kale, brussel sprouts, green onions, lettuce, and a lot more. We will also be harvesting a good deal of melons, as they seem to have matured nearly 2 weeks earlier than last year. We will also continue with field preparation, reworking harvested fields, plowing in cover crops, spreading compost, planting cover crops, prepping garlic beds, and getting a few fields ready for next spring. Such preparation seems early, but now is the time!
Pre-storm garden
May everyone have a wonderful week.
Your farmers,
Eric,
Brooke, George, Kevin, Peter, Evan, and more!
Recipes
Fresh Corn Salad
Aside
from eating it fresh out in the field - which is, hands down, the best
way to enjoy sweet corn, this is one of my favorite ways to eat corn in
the summertime. We forgot to pull out this recipe last week when the
corn was rolling in, but I highly recommend this salad if you can get
your hands on some more fresh sweet corn. You gotta get it from the
farmer's market; it only takes a couple of days for the sugars in the
corn to turn starchy and somewhat bland - still corny, but not sweet.
5 ears of sweet corn, husked and silk removed
1/2 cup small-diced red onion
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
Chile pepper, to taste
1/2 cup chiffonade fresh basil leaves (directions follow)**
** To make chiffonade: Stack basil leaves, then cut across the stack to make small "ribbons."
Scrape the corn kernels from the ears
of corn by using a sharp kitchen knife and a large cutting board. Cut
off the stem end to give a flat base. Hold the ear, tip end up, then cut
downward, removing a few rows at a time.
In a large pot, partially filled with
water, bring water to a rolling boil. Add the corn kernels to the
boiling water. Bring water back up to a boil; immediately remove from
heat and drain corn in a colander in your sink. Run cold water over the
corn in the colander to stop the cooking process; drain the corn
thoroughly.
In a large bowl, gently combine corn
kernels, red onions, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Adjust
seasonings to taste. Refrigerate the salad until approximately 1/2 hour
before serving. Just before serving, toss in the fresh basil. Taste for
seasonings and serve cold or at room temperature.
Makes about 4 or 5 servings.
Zucchini Pancakes
Summer
squash can be substituted for the zucchini in this recipe. Serve it
with fresh tomato sauce, or basil tomato salad, and some good salty
cheese.
1/2 cup a.p. flour
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (or squash)
1 egg, beaten
2 tblsp chopped onion (or more if you like)
2 tblsp mayo
2 tblsp butter
sour cream (optional)
In a
bowl, combine the flour, Parmesan cheese, oregano, salt and pepper.
Combine the zucchini, egg, onion, and mayonnaise; stir into dry
ingredients until well blended. In a large skillet, melt the butter.
Drop zucchini mixture by cupfuls onto the skillet; press lightly to
flatten. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Drain
on paper towels or newspaper. Serve with sour cream if desired...
Pizza Dough
This
pizza dough recipe is fairly quick and easy, which comes in handy when
you don't have all day to watch dough rise. It's also pretty darn
tasty, if I do say so myself. Baked on a pizza stone in a hot oven,
this crust only takes about 45 minutes to prepare. We like to brush it
with olive oil, and top it with sliced tomatoes, garlic, basil and
plenty of fresh mozzarella, feta, or goat cheese if we can get it!
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (2.25 tsp)
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
2 cups bread flour
2 T olive oil
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine 2 cups bread
flour, olive oil, salt, sugar and the yeast mixture; stir well to
combine. Beat well until a stiff dough has formed. Cover and rise
until doubled in volume (about 30 minutes. Meanwhile preheat oven to
450 degrees F. Turn dough out onto a well floured
surface. Form dough into a round and roll out into a pizza crust
shape. Cover with your favorite sauce and toppings and bake in
preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Enjoy!
Brooke
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