Farm News

Kim and Zane left on Sunday for a camping trip in Montana with a bunch of Zane’s homeschool friends. There’s nothing to make you appreciate how much you don’t know quite as much as having the person who does know gone for the week. Rock Spring Farm is taking this week off from the Rochester Farmers Market while they drive back.

An all-day rain on Saturday was kind of a bummer, and put a lid on sales at the Farmers Market. It’s one of the things we like about the CSA – you get food weather it’s raining or not. I say the rain was a bummer, but it really soaked in nicely, although it kept us out of the field for longer than the three-inches we got two weeks ago. But I’m not complaining; we’ve been in more or less constant field work for the better part of a month now, and we appreciated the break.

Chris spent Saturday fixing sheep fence, and appreciating the new rainsuit he bought this spring, but hadn’t had a chance to use yet this summer. We use electric fencing on the sheep, and as pastures get a little less delicious and their wool starts to grow back in in August, we often have some trouble with the sheep getting out. After a long and heated discussion with the sheep, Chris finally decided to graze them through the grass strips between the asparagus, with daily moves to keep them entertained, and this seems to be working better than chasing sheep around the farm.

Chris’ mom, Karlla, left on Monday to head back home to Seattle, and the week got off to a start that has been characterized by hustling around under the threat of rain that has consistently failed to materialize. We mudded out the carrot crop, picked tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini, but the rain never came.

On Wednesday, with flash flood watches posted, Chris scurried around to get a bunch of weeds mowed down in the morning, when things had dried out enough to mow. Keeping weeds from going to seed on the field edges and roads is just as important as keeping them under control in the field. That done, he fallow-tilled a couple of pieces to flush more weeds before cover crop planting starts next week.

One of the harvest heroes got stung by a wasp, had an allergic reaction, and stuck herself with an epinephrine pen, so that added a little excitement to the day. She’s fine now. We were grateful to have Lucas, who is trained as an emergency first responder, on the crew to make certain everything was okay, and even put in a call to one of our CSA member-doctors when we couldn’t get straight answers over the phone from our emergency-room nurse.

After everybody left for the day, Chris got in a first cultivation on our very nice stand of turnips and winter radishes, which Kim seeded last week, and made a timely run through the storage carrots, since the weeds were tiny and died quickly.

Rain failed to materialize on Wednesday night, although we spent a good deal of time watching the weather, and heard some thunder rolling around. If we can avoid any of the gully washer type storms, it seems that we might be settling into a nice moisture pattern, with time to get the field work done between rainfalls. We’ll cross our fingers anyway.

In Kim's Kitchen

This is the week for both Sungold Cherry Tomatoes and Round Red Tomatoes, which are coming on strong in both greenhouses. Growing tomatoes in the greenhouses not only lets us extend the season a little bit, it also provides a better-tasting tomato since we avoid many of the plant diseases which plague outdoor production. And, since we grow them in the soil (unlike hydroponic greenhouse tomatoes) and in the cycle of the seasons (no December tomatoes here, folks), we let nature do what she does best by providing the natural sunlight and soil nutrients that tomatoes need to taste great.

Roasted Tomatoes with Parmesan

several tomatoes
olive oil

salt
freshly grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 400. Cut medium tomatoes into quarters, or large tomatoes into eighths. Arrange on a rimmed baking sheet (do not use glass) with cut sides up. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt. Roast tomatoes for 40 minutes to an hour until cooked through. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese immediately. Serve with any pan juices.

Roasted Tomato Pasta Sauce
2 lbs tomatoes, roasted
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
Combine all ingredients and serve over pasta.

Tomato Soup
1-1/2 cups minced onion
3 cloves crushed garlic
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp mint
1/8 tsp black pepper
6 cups chopped canned tomatoes plus their liquid or fresh ones
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp sour cream
2 fresh tomatoes
Sauté onions and garlic with a little salt in olive oil and butter in a kettle or large saucepan. Cook until translucent, then add dill, pepper, tomatoes, and honey. Cover and simmer at least 45 minutes. Five minutes before serving whisk in the sour cream.

Gold Zucchini are also continuing to do their zucchini thing, through rain and drought. We are continuing to enjoy the recipe for Zucchini Carpaccio presented a couple of weeks back in this space (slice thinly lengthwise and drizzle with olive oil).

We picked Carrots with Their Tops early this week, and were pleased with both the size and the flavor. The forecast for rain made us a little nervous about getting into the field to get the job done, so we sort of mudded them out with our root digger and a bunch of hand labor. Again, take the greens off when you get them home, and store the roots in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer.

Cipollini Onions, something we discovered when we managed a market farm out in Maine back in the late 90’s, have been a long-time favorite at Rock Spring Farm. Whereas most onions have a high flavor peak at the sulfur note, these little guys – “Cipollini” means little onion in Italian – have a more well-rounded flavor peak, with the same heat you would get from a normal onion. We especially like them in places where the onion is featured as a vegetable, rather than as a sidebar, such as drizzled with olive oil and roasted alongside a chicken or beef roast. If you want to peel the onions, place in a pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute and drain; the outer peel will slip right off when you squeeze the onions.

Caramelized Cippolini Onions
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 pounds Cippolini onions, peeled
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 bay leaf
4 tablespoons stock
salt and pepper to taste
Melt the butter in a large, ovenproof saucepan over a medium flame. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add the onions to the butter and cook for about 20 minutes, until they are nicely browned. Add the sugar, wine, vinegars, bay leaf, and stock, and bring to a simmer.

Place the pan in the oven and cook for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the onions are soft. Remove the onions from the pan with a slotted spoon. Reduce the sauce over low heat until it achieves a slightly viscous consistency, about 1 hour. Season with salt and pepper, and reheat the onions in the sauce.

A special variety, our French Petite Green Beans are picked small, and taste great raw or cooked. When lightly sautéed, they also pair nicely with Fresh Basil.

Our Dutch Greenhouse Cucumbers have had a bit of an odd shape lately, but the flavor and texture have been excellent. No peeling or seeding necessary on these treats.

Small, green Jalapeno Peppers make a nice addition to lots of dishes, and store quite well. We really enjoy this delicious salsa with fish, pork, or chicken:

Fruit Salsa
11/2 cups fruit, cut into small diced pieces (we usually use plums and peaches)
1/2 fresh jalapeno, seeded and minced
1/4 cup minced red onion
1 tablespoon minced cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste
Mix all the ingredients, including salt and pepper to taste, in a medium bowl. let stand for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

Larger, blocky Green Peppers also make a nice addition to salads and stir fries. These are the precursor to Red Peppers, and don’t have any heat at all.