Blue Gate Farm News – Volume V, Number 3 – December
4 , 2007
In this week’s box:
Arugula: Sprint
Garlic: asst. hardneck
Kohlrabi:
Leeks(baby): Giant Musselburgh
Radishes: Easter Egg & Cherryette
Spinach mix: Space (green,
smooth) and
Sunchokes
Tapestry Salad Mix
For those with the Cheese option: Holiday Chive Chevre, Chipotle Chevre and Feta (bonus)
Featured Recipes
(on back): Roasted Jerusalem Artichokes
Spinach Leek Frittata
What’s up on the farm?
Happy Hanukkah and we hope
you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It’s
a funny time of the year here on the farm as we try to get the annual fall
chores done before the weather and ground turn too cold. The looming chore this year was getting the
garlic in…what an adventure that was. My
dad (our mechanics-master) was able to repair our smaller tiller and even did
the tilling for us while we were delivering your most recent boxes. So we were all ready to get the garlic into
the ground on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Not sure if you recall the weather that day,
snow and high winds is all I remember. I
was only able to get three rows of garlic in before the snow got too deep to
plant. I was happy to give up and spend
the rest of the day inside. Luckily by
later that weekend the weather had improved and the rest of the garlic went
into the ground without a hitch. So,
tucked-in under a thick blanket of much on the west end of the garden are 1,760
cloves of garlic, starting to root and all ready for the 2008 season…whew! So to celebrate the continuation of the garlic
crops, the last of this season’s garlic is in your boxes this week. You will
want to use it fairly quickly as it will be nearing the end of its storage
ability before too long.
One of the other projects
that we finally got underway was establishing a hedgerow along our east fence
line. So far we have planted ten Nanking cherries along the field border that
will provide us some protection from future chemical overspray problems. We
will continue to add other large bush-like plantings here to further that
protection and that will also provide food and wildlife coverage.
So, let’s talk about this
week’s boxes…all of this week’s fresh produce is still coming from the little
tunnels in the lower garden. While harvesting
this week, we began to see evidence of some cold damage on some of the greens,
especially on the tips. We tried to carefully cull out any damaged greens, but
undoubtedly we missed some. So if you
notice some whitish, or light-colored areas,
especially on the tips of the salad mix, spinach or arugula greens, that is
what it is. You can ignore or discard
those leaves as is your want, and we’re sorry we missed them. The interesting item for the day is sunchokes
(sometimes called Jerusalem Artichokes). These are a native member of the sunflower
family that produce tasty, edible tubers. They have a mild, sweet, nutlike flavor and
are a good source of iron and niacin. They
can be eaten raw (soak in a little lemon juice and water to prevent browning)
like jicama or water chestnuts or cooked like potatoes. You can use them sautéed, roasted, stir-fried,
steamed or simmered alone or with other vegetables. Store in a plastic bag in the fridge for up to
2 weeks, to restore crispness, soak in cold water.
Finally, we have
one delivery remaining in the Winter Season, on Tuesday, December 18th.
We will bring your produce in bags that
day so there won’t be a box to return after the holidays. Also, remember that the Winter Farmers Market
will be Saturday, December 15th at
See you in two
weeks…Best from the farm,
Jill & Sean
Roasted
Cooked this way,
Makes 4 servings
4 cloves
garlic, smashed, then chopped
21/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
11/2 pounds
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1. Preheat oven to 500F.
2. Put garlic and oil in a microwaveable
dish. Cover with a paper towel and cook in microwave oven at half power for 2
minutes (3 minutes if a low-wattage oven). Set aside.
3. Peel Jerusalem artichokes
and cut into pieces the size of golf balls.
4. Put in a shallow roasting
pan large enough to hold all in one layer comfortably.
5. Strain garlic from oil and
pour oil over the chokes.
6. Add salt and pepper and
toss.
7. Cook about 20 minutes
(tossing once or twice) or until tender.
8. Sprinkle on the parsley
and serve.
Recipe Source: www.tonytantillo.com
Spinach Leek Frittata
serves 6
1 tbsp. butter
3 leeks, thinly sliced
1 large bunch of fresh spinach, approx. 3/4 lb., washed and chopped
1 tbsp. fresh oregano, minced (or 1 tsp. dried)
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 C lowfat milk
4 oz. Gruyere cheese (or other Swiss), grated
1/2 tsp. salt
lots of freshly ground black pepper
2 C fresh bread cubes, cut into 1/4" cubes (French or Italian bread is
best)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt
butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and sauté for
2 to 3 minutes. Add the spinach and oregano, and cook until just wilted, about
1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside. Beat the eggs, milk, cheese, salt and pepper together. Stir in the bread cubes
and spinach-leek mixture. Mix well. Pour into an oiled 9 1/2" baking dish
or cast iron skillet. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until golden and
firm.
Recipe Source:
Rolling Prairie Cookbook