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Harvest season is in full swing here and it is awesome! Onions are finished and winter squash is starting to fill up the bins in our storage room. Watermelon and cantaloupe are getting sweeter every day, and the corn! The other holiday we wait and wait for all summer- sweet corn is finally ready! We grow an organic bi-color variety called 'Luscious' it is really sweet and we just love it. Our flower garden is in full bloom right now, this is my favorite field on the farm despite that it is by far the weediest field- I think that is due to the fact that Shane has deemed it my territory to maintain.  The other new thing this week is Tomatillos! They might not be the most exciting, but harvesting them is pretty fun. When the tomatillo is ready, it's husk has split open and it hangs a bit lower to the ground on the plant, and there are tons of them! Here is my basic recipe for tomatillo salsa- -1 pint tomatillos -1 lime juiced -almost a full bunch of cilantro chopped - 2 Tbl. onion chopped - 1 clove garlic minced - Remove husks from the tomatillos and simmer in a pan of water until they are tender usually just a few minutes. Then chop the tomatillos and stir everything together. We topped our grilled vegetables and quinoa with this last night it was delicious! This week in your share
Cantaloupe, Tomatoes, Cucumber, Sweet Corn, Eggplant, Garlic, Onions, Herbs Sweet Pepper, Kale or Cabbage & Tomatillos Our rainy growing season is finally paying off. I feel like this is our thank you from mother nature- these sweet juicy amazing melons we just harvested. And how do we enjoy the very first fruit? Well by cracking it open and having a snack right in the melon patch, almost everything tastes better when eaten in the field!  We grilled up almost an entire shares worth of vegetables the other night when we had family in town. This time I made a cucumber salad to go with it. I scooped out the seeds and let the sliced cucumber sit in salt water for a bit, then poured off the brine and added apple cider vinegar, fresh dill, olive oil, salt & pepper. At the table we added rice and plain yogurt, Shane covered his plate in Sriracha while the rest of us just topped it with some feta cheese , delicious both ways!  This week in your share-
Watermelon! Swiss Chard or Kale, Pepper, Broccoli or Cauliflower, Tomatoes, Garlic, Scallions, Choice of 3- Cucumber, Zucchini, Summer Squash & Cabbage Fresh herbs this week include- Sweet Basil, Purple Basil, Parsley, Cilantro, Thyme, Sage, Rosemary and Dill. August is one of our favorite months on the farm, everything is in full swing and the rhythm of the farm just feels good this time of year. But really it's our favorite because it is full on tomato season in Vermont. You can push the season early and late with greenhouses, but really it's all about right now. Once the seed catalogs start showing up in early winter the tomato anticipation begins. Hundreds of varieties to choose from big red beefsteaks, heirlooms in every color and stripe you could dream, cute little cherry tomatoes, paste tomatoes for canning and cooking. This year we planted 26 different varieties of heirlooms, 6 combinations of grafted beefsteak tomatoes, 9 different cherry tomatoes and 2 paste tomatoes. In the next couple of weeks we will have cherry tomatoes and heirlooms in your CSA share!  This evening for dinner I started off by making a really simple slaw- -1 mini cabbage-sliced thin -1 lime juiced -pinch of salt -1 T sugar -1 T cumin That led me to- beans and rice with veggies- I sautéed a red pepper, zucchini and scallions together and then added in back beans at the end. I made a quick fresh salsa to go with it- -1-2 tomato chopped -a little bit of scallion chopped -cilantro -Hot pepper or hot sauce -Lime juice -salt  This week in your share-
Celery! Tomatoes, Scallion, Carrots, Potatoes, Lettuce Herbs, Garlic, Beans! Red or Purple pepper and your choice of 3 - zucchini, summer squash, cucumber and cabbage This week was the big garlic harvest, family came to help and we have almost all of the crop hanging happily in the barn. We grow around 1/3 of an acre of garlic, this year we grew 8 different varieties. When we started our farm in 2007 we planted 19 different kinds of garlic! We have slowly narrowed it down to the best tasting and most productive of those. Some of our favorites are Russian Red, Khabar and German Hardy. We really love garlic and hopefully you do too!  Since we spent the morning harvesting potatoes here is our dinner-one of our favorite early summer dishes- Potato Tomato Gratin
 This week in your share- Garlic, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Potatoes, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Hakurei Turnips Bunched Onions, Carrots, Eggplant Kale or Swiss Chard & Basil or Parsley  Exactly 3 weeks ago on this blog I predicted that we would be harvesting hundreds of pounds of food on a warm sunny day. So, I MIGHT have some sort of pyschic powers, because we have been doing that exactly, hundreds and hundreds of pounds in the sweltering heat actually. We also told ourselves during those dark rainy afternoons "you know we'll be irrigating in a few weeks" so maybe a little psychic or maybe it's just how farming in VT goes these days.  I'm sure you are all doing whatever you can to avoid turning the oven or stove on the past few days. We mostly solve that problem by grilling which is really one of my favorite things about summer anyway. Shane and I spent the morning (and last night) harvesting parsley, which got me thinking about tabbouleh. Tabbouleh is so simple and wonderful plus it tastes better after a day or two, so make a big batch! Everything you need is in your share and at the Farm Store! Tabbouleh Salad- 1 cup bulgar soaked until tender juice from 2 lemons 1 gigantic bunch of parsley chopped finely 2 or 3 tomatoes chopped 1 bunch scallions olive oil salt  This Week In your Share- Fennel, Tomato, Lettuce, Cabbage, Sugar Snap Peas Swiss Chard or Kale, Cucumber, Zucchini, Summer Squash Scallions, Parsley or Basil & New Potatoes! I am a pretty terrible pea picker. Most other crops I get right to work fill up my bins and get them into the cooler as fast as I can. It's just that I love those fresh peas SO MUCH. They are about as close to candy as we can grow, and I've got an enormous sweet tooth. So I feel it is my duty to sample freely and make sure you are getting only the best possible. And also breaking the shell apart to find all the little peas lined up and snuggled in there so perfectly just makes me smile! I was so excited about peas that I almost forgot about one of the biggest holidays on this farm and that is First Tomato Day! I spend a lot of time thinking about how to use that first tomato about a week or so actually, from when it first starts showing color to when I can't hold out anymore and pick it! This year that first tomato went onto the simplest of all sandwiches which might be my favorite all time- Our homemade no-knead bread, mayo (we use vegenaise) and tomato, nothing else, just that and it is perfect tomato heaven.  This week in your share- Kale or Swiss Chard, Broccoli, Shell Peas, Bunched Mixed Beets, Lettuce, Purple Scallions, Zucchini & Summer Squash, Napa Cabbage, Basil or Parsley Garlic Scapes and a Tomato!  That's the name of the variety we grow, just plain sweet basil, and it really is sweet. We use fresh herbs as much as possible in the summer and more than any other herb it's basil. I freeze what some people might think is a ridiculous amount of pesto. Whenever I think "Oh, I'm done for the year, we have plenty!" I find myself a week later breaking out the food processor right up until the frost has taken the last harvest. We are so far from that day right now, with plenty of time to stock the freezer and enjoy this beautiful herb!  Our pesto recipe is pretty loose, I substitute different herbs or bitter greens, nuts or seeds and any cheese that's similar to parmesan will do. But right now the basil is too good to pass up, So- 2 cups packed Basil a few cloves of garlic or several garlic scales 1/3 c. Olive oil 1/4 c. Grated cheese 1/4 c. Walnuts or Sunflower seeds  This week in your share- Napa Cabbage, Broccoli, Zucchini, Summer Squash Garlic Scapes, Lettuce, Spinach, Kale or Rainbow Chard Basil and your choice of one other herb Walking around the field right now requires two things mud boots and a bit of optimism. And if you look at what is happening out there it's really beautiful. Plants are flowering all over, tiny vegetables that will grow in to hundreds of pounds of food are taking shape, it's pretty fun to watch! So right now I am trying to just look at the flowers and the fruit and remember that all this rain will end and we will be harvesting these vegetables on some warm sunny day soon!  This week in your share- Lettuce- Pirat red butterhead, our absolute favorite! Purple scallions, Spinach, Kale, Garlic Scapes, Herbs- Basil parsley or cilantro Sugar snap peas, Zucchini, Radish or Salad turnip and Shoots!  Finally! A nice big stretch of good weather, a break from our rain gear and a chance for the fields to really dry out. With this sun comes a huge explosion in the fields, everything is starting to take off- the potatoes are growing an inch a day it seems, sugar snap peas are starting to come in, cucumbers are flowering and the first of our zucchini is sitting in the cooler. This week CSA members receive- Lettuce, Pac Choi, Salad turnips or Radish, Kale-Swiss Chard or Broccoli Raab, Arugula, Bunched onions, Sugar snap peas and Herbs-basil, parsley or cilantro.  I thought the broccoli raab would be great in one of our favorite dishes - Super Green Pasta! It changes every time I make it, but basically consists of pesto, any kind of greens, vegetables and cannelini or cranberry beans. Tonight's version was- basil pesto, broccoli raab, a little kale,onion, zucchini & sugar snap peas. I sauté the veggies in olive oil and then toss it all in a bowl with the pesto. It wouldn't be a meal for Shane without at least one kind of cheese, so we grated parmesan and added some fresh Maplebrook Farm mozzerella on top. Yes, it feels like summer is getting close!
 We are so excited to begin the CSA season. Despite all this rain, things in the field are looking pretty great! For the first ever Knee Deep Farm CSA pick up you will be receiving- Pac Choi, Lettuce, Shoots, Radish or Salad Turnip Kale or Chard, Spring Garlic, Bunched Onions and Herbs- Basil plus your choice of parsley or cilantro  We keep it pretty simple in the kitchen, so last night I sautéed a whole bunch of pac choi with garlic and onions and a little bit of swiss chard then I added in some cilantro right at the end. We had wild rice on the side and topped it all off with some amazing Flack Family Farm Kim Chi and a scrambled egg. YUM! If you would like some more recipe ideas I have started a collection on Pinterest. We love new recipes so please share if you have a good one!
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