Blue Gate Farm News – Volume IV, Number 12
– July 17, 2007
In this week’s box:
Beans:
Cabbage: Arrowhead *
Carrots: assorted
Cucumbers: Diva (short,
green) *, Lemon (round, yellow) * or Suyo Long (long, green) *
Patty Pan Squash: asst.
Zucchini: 8 Ball (round,
green) * or Sebring (long, yellow) *
* from the upper
garden
For those with the Herb
option: Genovese Basil, Mint, Chives, Tarragon
Featured
Recipes: Cucumber Soup
Zippy Sesame Bean Salad
Rain this week: 0.4”
What’s up on the farm?
It’s been a busy
week here on the farm. We’ve nearly
finished the clearing of vegetables that can’t be used. By now we have disposed of hundreds of pounds
of produce, what an unfortunate waste, but it feels good to have that chore
behind us. So on to the vegetables that
we can use…as mentioned in our recent email, there are a few items in this
week’s box that are from the upper gardens. As suggested by one of our members, those
items are indicated by a * in the “In this week’s box” listing. We will continue to mark such items through
the rest of the season just to keep you informed.
We started the
past week deciding that one of our beehives had gotten a little grouchy and
needed to be moved farther away from traffic areas. Sean closed up the hive and strapped it
together and things were going fine until we bumped the hive against the truck and
created a crack big enough for the bees to pour out. Instantly there were a whole lot of really
unhappy bees bouncing off our protective veils. Sean stayed much calmer than I did and was
able to get the situation under control. We got the bees moved to their new home
without further incident, but what a way to start the week! The rest of the week went much more smoothly. We spent some time at Coyote Run farm tending
to our “loaner” tomato plants there as well as working on our own replacement
tomato rows here. We cut and square
baled our hay field. The family formerly
known as the “Weeding Wonder Kavanaughs” came back out and became the “Garlic
Gang” as they helped get the first half of the garlic harvest in. What a job that was and by the time we
finished we were all completely safe from the threat of any vampires.
The highlight of
Blue’s week was a visit from Jill’s aunt & uncle from
You may notice
that one of our recipes this week was contributed by one of our members. If anyone else has recipe suggestions using
ingredients from your box, please let us know. We would love to share them.
Your interesting vegetable of the week is the
Arrowhead cabbage. This is a miniature cabbage with tender, thin, sweet leaves.
Use as you would any cabbage but note that it will cook very quickly. Jill’s
favorite use of this cabbage is to spread a single leaf with peanut butter and
roll it up for a fabulous “walking salad” treat. Last of all, don’t worry if
you didn’t receive beans this week, the bean harvest is just beginning and if
you missed them this week, you will receive them next week.
More next week…
Best from the
farm,
Jill & Sean
Cucumber Soup
2 cucumbers,
peeled and diced
1/4 lb. butter
2 scallions
chopped
2 cups chicken
bouillon
1 Tblsp. vinegar
1/2 tsp. tarragon
salt & pepper
2 cups plain
yogurt
Saute cucumbers
and onions in butter until tender. Add bouillon, vinegar, tarragon, salt and
pepper and simmer for 5 minutes. Blend until smooth. Cool in refrigerator. Beat
in yogurt with wire whip. Chill soup.
Serve garnished
with a dollop of sour cream and cracked black pepper.
I cut the seeds
out of the cucumbers prior to slicing them because sometimes the seeds don't
blend very well. The soup is refreshing in the heat and also quite filling due
to the yogurt. Enjoy!
Recipe Source: Ron Schmitz and Alice
Feeney Worsley, provided by BGF member Susan Burden
Leonard
Zippy Sesame Bean Salad
1 lb fresh green
beans (whole)
2 tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic
(or more), minced
1 tsp sea salt
fresh ground
pepper, to taste
2 tbs seasoned
rice vinegar (can also use balsamic vinegar)
¼ c. sesame seeds,
toasted
Place beans in a
large pot of boiling water for 3-5 minutes. You don’t want to cook them, they
should still crunch, just blanch until bright green. Drain and allow to cool to
room temperature or slightly warm. While beans are cooking, mix garlic, olive
oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl, and allow to sit at room temperature
until beans are cooled. Place beans in a large bowl and toss with garlic/olive
oil mixture. Add vinegar and half of sesame seeds, toss again. Place beans in
serving dish and sprinkle with remaining sesame seeds. We like this dish served
at room temperature as a salad or as a somewhat messy appetizer, but it is also
good served warm or chilled. This is a great party or potluck dish. If you have
leftovers, you might want to add another splash of rice vinegar before serving
them again, just to liven up the flavor a bit.
Recipe Source: Blue Gate Farm