Blue Gate Farm News – Volume IV,  Number 17  –  August 21, 2007

 

In this week’s box:

Beans: Carson (yellow) & Empress (green) mix or Maxibel (filet-style green)

Cabbage*: Arrowhead (mini)

Carrots: asst.

Cucumbers*: Diva (short, green), Lemon (round, yellow) or Suyo Long (long, green)

Hot Peppers: Poblano (dark green) optional

Sweet Peppers*:  Mini Bells, White Paprika, Purple Beauty, Red Knight or La Rouge Royal

Tomatoes: asst. heirlooms from Coyote Run Farm and our own*

* from the upper garden

 

For those with the Cheese option: Dried Tomato & Basil Chevre (new flavor, let us know what you think)

For those with the Herb option: Basil: Dark Opal, Fennel, Parsley

 

Featured Recipes (on back): Roasted Tomato Salsa

                                                 Dilly Beans (Jill’s favorite way to use up bounteous beans!)

Rain this week: 1.35”

 

What’s up on the farm?

Never would I have guessed that we would have a season when late August would be the first of our tomato deliveries, but here we are.  A number of our crazy tomato and pepper plants have pushed through their early season damage and are putting out clean growth and fruit.  We’ve been eating them and have been pleased with their quality, so now we can share them with our members so unless something changes, this will probably be our last “tomato donation” from our friends at Coyote Run.  This week the big red slicers are theirs, all the rest are from our gardens.  The squash has put on an amazing show this summer, but the curtain has finally come down on their season.  Over the past couple of weeks they have slowly submitted to the ravages of the squash bugs and cucumber beetles and now most of them are gone.  I don’t anticipate anyone will miss them for a little while anyway.  Their relatives the cucumbers are fairing a little better, but they are certainly on the decline as well. So as with all things seasonal, enjoy them while they last.  Finally, the cabbage is also taking a final bow. We sure like those cute miniature heads, but some of them matured at an incredible small size.  They are tasty regardless.

We have continued to get regular rains this past week, enough so that we are still trying to get the last of the potatoes and onions harvested, but we are making progress.  We haven’t been so lucky getting the fall crops sown; it’s just too wet to till the beds…maybe next week.  All the rainy weather is perfect for cleaning and sorting garlic though.  We’ve completed the process and now have 47 lbs of seed garlic ready to be planted in October…we only planted 18 lbs last year so we are excited about the increase.  Don’t worry, we aren’t planting everything, there’s also more than 30 lbs set aside for CSA and market customers…yea garlic!!

 

 

More next week…

 

Best from the farm,

Jill & Sean

 

 

Dilly Beans

 

2 lb      Green Beans; Trimmed

¼ c      Canning Salt

4          Fresh Dill; Heads

4          Garlic Cloves

1 tsp    Cayenne pepper

2 ½ c   White Vinegar

2 ½ c   Water

 

Trim ends off beans, leave whole. To each pint jar , add 1/4 ts. cayenne pepper, 1 clove garlic and 1 head dill. Pack beans, lengthwise, into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Combine remaining ingredients and bring to boiling. Pour, boiling hot, over beans, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Remove air bubbles with a chopstick. Adjust caps. Process pints and quarts 10 minutes in boiling water bath. Yield: About 4 pints.

These need to mellow for at least a month or two (longer is better) to develop the best flavor. If you open a jar right away you will think they are too salty and/or vinegary!

 

Recipe Source: The Blue Book, Ball Corp.

 

Roasted Tomato Salsa

2-1/2  pounds roma tomatoes (about 15)

3   fresh jalapeno peppers

1  medium head garlic

1  teaspoon salt

2  medium white onions, finely chopped

2/3  cup lightly packed cilantro leaves, snipped (1/4 cup)

4  teaspoons cider vinegar

 

1. Core the tomatoes. Place in one side of a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Halve the jalapeno peppers. Remove stems and seeds. Place, cut side down, in the other side of baking pan with tomatoes. Peel away outer skin from garlic. Cut off the pointed top portion with a knife, leaving the bulb intact but exposing the individual cloves. Add to pan. Roast, uncovered, in a 450 degree F oven for 25 minutes or until tomatoes are soft and pepper skins are charred. Cool.

2. Remove tomato skins. Press to remove garlic ¿paste¿ from individual cloves of garlic. Place garlic, jalapeno peppers, and salt in a food processor bowl or blender container. Cover and process or blend with a few pulses until finely chopped. Add half of the tomatoes; cover and process or blend with a few pulses until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add remaining tomatoes to food processor bowl or blender container; cover and process or blend with a few pulses until coarsely chopped. Stir into tomato mixture in bowl.

3. Stir onions, cilantro, and vinegar into tomato mixture until combined. Cover and chill several hours to blend flavors. Serve with tortilla chips. Makes about 4 cups.

 

Recipe Source: Better Homes and Gardens