The Essence of Summer

by Bob Blanchard (Farmer Chris’ dad)

A few weeks ago, as I frequently do, I was scanning a list of blogs that I track while having morning coffee. One in particular from the Rocky Mountain School of Photography (RMSP), caught my attention as it suggested an assignment to take images that show what summer means to you – to show how you might visualize “The Essence of Summer.”

In considering what was termed “quintessentially summer” images, I suspect most folks might likely picture backyard barbecues, lazy summer days in the hammock or maybe a weekend at the beach or lake. And until this year, when someone asked me to describe what it meant to me, I would have talked of climbing and hiking in the Tetons, trail runs in the high mountains and hanging out on the river. But this spring and summer, I've been living with my son here at Rock Spring Farm and the essence of summer has taken on a totally new meaning: mowing cover crops and tilling them under to prepare the fields for planting; transplanting vegetables from the greenhouse to the fields; packing boxes to be delivered to customers whether it’s a grocery store or co-op or individuals with CSA subscriptions; hearing from people at the stores when I make deliveries about how much they enjoy the produce we provide; and, surviving what seem to be weekly electrical and rain storms. The essence of summer has become visual images of a powerful idea – that special relationship that exists between farmers growing food and providing it to those that eat the food we grow – and what goes into that relationship.

Summer on the farm is long days of work often starting before the family is out of bed and going until dark; the heat, humidity and filtered light of the greenhouses providing the elements for new seeds to take root in preparation for going into the fields; the mixed fragrances of the rows of herbs that I pass as I walk to the creek; the satisfaction of seeing vacant fields turn green with vegetation that becomes the food that we eat each night.

It’s true that I long to be back in the mountains where I can talk about my more typical summer with friends that I care about, but the luxury of spending time on the farm, with my family, watching fields transform to the food we eat has given me a new perspective on “The Essence of Summer.”

And if you’re interested in what RMSP selected to portray The Essence of Summer, you can find it at <http://blog.rmsp.com/2010/08/10/essence-of-summer-assignment-gallery/>.

Goings on on the Farm

It started raining again on Sunday night after we got the turnips and winter radishes seeded. We had a good week of tillage and weed control, such as it is with all this rain, before the rain set in. Sunday night brought a violent thunderstorm that took down a couple of trees and caused a few sleepless nights.

We are all working to acknowledge that we do live in the Upper Midwest, and to just cowboy up and deal with the heat and humidity and the rain. Sounds like our friends in the Twin Cities, Ames, and Des Moines have all had it a lot worse than we have. So we’ll take the heat and the humidity and make the best of it. A good straw hat helps.

We ended up short handed this week due to family emergencies and illnesses, so we are working hard to muddle through. Since it’s been too wet to work in the field all week, it hasn’t been so bad; Eric and Sarah and the two Bens have really hustled to make the harvest come together each day this week, giving Chris the space he needed to catch up on the office work that seems constantly to loom.

In This Week's Box

When you get this week’s box home, you’ll want to keep the garlic and the tomatoes out of the refrigerator. Tomatoes go on the counter if you want to hold them, in the windowsill if you want them soon, and in a paper bag if want them sooner. Cabbage can go straight into the crisper drawer, but put it in a bag if you want to hold onto it for more than four or five days. Everything else goes in the crisper drawer in a plastic bag.

Overall right now, the harvest has suffered from disease and the weather’s barriers to getting into the field. We plant something every week from the first of April to the middle of October, so a year like this when it rains constantly puts a real crimp in our style.

Greenhouse Tomatoes

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

Golden Zucchini

Conehead Cabbage – Summer cabbage has a lower water content that its fall version, so it makes great coleslaw. I’m planning on a bit of sauerkrauat making this weekend.

Carrots – It ain’t bragging if it’s true, right? I’ve gone to a number of potlucks lately with just a plateful of carrot sticks, and gotten rave reviews. It’s a good carrot year, despite the heat. I think we are benefitting from the balance of water and heat.

Fresh Red Onions

Green Pepper

Jalapeno Pepper – This is the small pepper in the box this week. With all of the moisture, we aren’t having great success with this desert crop this year, so this week we’ve only got one pepper. You can affect the heat on these by leaving the veins and seeds in (more heat) or taking them out (less heat).

Garlic

Rosemary – Old legend associates this piney herb with the ability to ward off bad dreams if a sprig of it is placed under the pillow. It would smell nice in any case. It pairs nicely with potatoes, lamb, pork, and fish.

We also had a bit of broccoli and some early paste tomatoes that may end up in a few boxes…

Recipes You Can Use

Baked Onions with Rosemary Butter

In general, red onions are milder than their yellow siblings, and better suited to raw or minimally-cooked use. But we also like them in long-cooked dishes, such as baked onions.

2 large onions, peeled (or three small-ish onions)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 tsp fresh rosemary
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Cut a cavity in the root end of each onion, about 1/2-inch deep. Arrange onions in a baking dish, cavity up. Place 1 Tbsp butter in each cavity, then sprinkle each onion with rosemary leaves, 1 Tbsp parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste. Add 1/4-inch water to the baking dish and bake the onions, covered, until tender when pierced with a fork— about 55 minutes. Transfer onions to a serving dish. Place the baking dish on the stove and reduce liquid over high heat; spoon the sauce over the onions and serve.

Salsa We Like

Serve with your favorite chips or over your morning scrambled eggs.

5 medium tomatoes
1 medium red onion
3 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced ( or less for less hot)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
1teaspoon ground cumin
4 dashes fish sauce ( optional )
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Puree the tomatoes in a food processor until large chunks are gone. Transfer to a large bowl. Chop the onion and garlic in the food processor for several pulses. Add to the tomatoes. Add rest of the ingredients to the tomatoes and mix. Let sit for 15 minutes for flavors to blend. Salt and pepper to taste.

Wilted Cabbage Salad

2 lb savoy cabbage, washed and shredded
4 - 5 strips bacon, cooked crisp
salt and pepper
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp olive oil

Put cabbage in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand for 10 minutes. Drain and pat dry. Place cabbage in a dry bowl and season with salt, pepper, and vinegar. Mix in the olive oil (or substitute bacon fat). Crumble bacon over warm salad.