Saturday, August 31, 2013

Dill and Lemon Flavored Butter

Dill tops the list of flavored butters. This one goes good with fish and baby potatoes. Also try with sweet corn.

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter (whipped butter works good for spreading)
1 tablespoon of minced sweet onions with green tops
1/2 teaspoon of fresh dill weed (can also use dried)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon white pepper, ground

Directions:

Process in food processor until smooth. Refrigerate until served.

Sun Dried Tomato Butter

Sun dried tomato butter is a great flavored butter recipe to use on your sweet corn or other buttery things.

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter
garlic clover, minced
2-3 minced sun dried tomatoes (Petersens), pour boiling water over and let stand for 15 minutes to soften
A small Roma tomato, chopped finely, cored and seeded.
2 tsp fresh lime or lemon juice
1/4 cup cilantro (Petersens) or parsley (optional)

Directions:

Combine butter, garlic, lime juice, sun dried tomatoes and regular tomatoes and cilantro together
Shape mixture into a log (about 1 inch around) on waxed paper. Wrap and chill. Slice and use with sweet corn, green beans or other vegetables.

Kick It -Up:

  • Add more garlic
  • Add a jalapeno, minced.
  • Sprinkle the outside of the log with fresh ground pepper
  • Sprinkle the outside of the log with black & red sprinkle (Pensey's)

Friday, August 30, 2013

Market Menu for August 31, 2013

We will have the following items at the market for Saturday, August 31, 2013 (New items are in Bold Print)

Baby Zucchini & Patty Pan - Seasonal Specialty

Heirloom Tomatoes - Really Good Supply
Watermelon - Amazing 
Tomatoes - Canning
Kohlrabi
Eggplant
Sweet Corn - Young, Tender, Fresh and Very Sweet
Fresh Cut Basil
Salsa Kits - Red, Green & Squash Blossom
Salsa - Fresh Canned, Squash Blossom Salsa!
Hot Peppers - Jalapeno, Publano & Serrano
Tomatoes - slicers, romas, cherries
Tomatillos
Squash Blossoms - Excellent Supply
Beets
Baby Zucchini Squash
Yellow Patty Pan Squash
Red Onions
Slicing Cucumbers - Burpless (Nice)
Mini Cucumbers - Tender, Crisp, Sweet, Bitter-free and Seedless (Top of the Line)
Red & Green Okra
Garlic - New Crop
Leeks
Walla Walla Sweet Jumbo Onions
Chipolini Onions
French Filet Bean - Petite New Row
New Baby Potatoes - Red & Yukon
Baby Spring Mix - Lettuce, Beet Greens, Kale (new lettuce bed this week)
Baby Red Russian Kale - Good Supply
Baby Kale - Regular
Spinach - Good Supply
Arugual - Good Supply, new bed this week
Baby Cilantro
Cress
Sweet Ruby - a fine frilly mustard green, new bed this week
Fresh Cut Herbs - Basil, Mint, Oregano, French Tarragon, Rosemary, Cilantro, Thyme, Dill
Dandelion Greens
Shallots - New Crop
Worm Farms - Red Wigglers, Worm Bedding, Worm Castings
Potting Mix - Made a Fresh Batch This Week
Cipotle Smoked Peppers
Smoked Sun Dried Tomatoes
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Herb Plants
- Rosemary
- Basil - Sweet Italian, Tai, Lemon, Holy - Herb of the Week (see Recipes on the VF Blog)
- Mint - Spearmint, Chocolate, Organge, Apple, Mint Mojito, Mint Julip
- Tyme - English, Posey, Lemon
- Sage, Tricolor Sage
- Dill
- Cilantro
- Chives
Dried Herbs
Lisa's Soap

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

A Tale of Two Cucumbers

It was the best of cucumbers, it was the worst of cucumbers...if Charles Dickens were to write a garden novel he might start it this way. Instead you just have me and my lowly experiences.

I have tried many different cucumbers over the years. I started off with some of the older heirloom varieties thinking they would be vastly superior. Well in this case the heirlooms were pretty dismal and the hybrids were very superior ("surely the best of times", says Dr. McCoy to Captain Kirk on his birthday). So much so that you can get three times the yield from the best cucumbers. One of my favorite varieties for this area of Minnesota is General Lee. It is a great slicing cucumber that is sweet and crunchy.

We are trying a new cucumber this year, one of the mini-cucumber varieties, that are picked about 2/3 of the size of the regular cucumbers. They are very thin-skinned, seedless, sweet and crunchy. They are parthenocarpic (don't need to be pollinated) and genocious (all female flowers) for much higher yields.

You need to plant several times a season for a continuous supply. We are planting the fall cucumbers now in the space vacated by harvested carrots, beets, garlic and onions. We also planted some fall broccoli this week. Yea! for fall gardening.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Minnesota Cooks: Petersen's at the Minnesota State Fair Sunday, August 24, 2013

The Petersen's will be a featured farm for the Minnesota Cooks event at the Minnesota State Fair on Sunday, August 24, 2013. If you are at the State Fair today we'd love to have you join us at 12:00 at Carousel Park.

Our farm, Greenleaf Gardens, is paired with Rainbow Cafe in Pine Island, Minnesota for the event. Rainbow Cafe uses lots of fresh ingredients from local farms, one of which is ours. There was a brief article in the Post Bulletin this week in the State Fair Section on Friday.

Jennifer Richards and Jeremy Olson own the Rainbow Cafe will be serving samples with our Heirloom Tomatoes, Sweet Onions, Arugula and Basil. Jennifer baked the rolls she will be using. There will be samples from various restaurants across the Minnesota from 10:00 - 4:30. Our presentation is from 12:00 to 1:00. There will also be an information table for the various farms.

The Minnesota Cooks organization chooses 12 farm and restaurant pairs from across the Minnesota. They are published in a beautiful calendar each year. You can get a calendar if you visit the event or we will have some at our Rochester Farmers Market booth as long as they last.

See you at the Minnesota State Fair.




Saturday, August 24, 2013

Squash Blossom Quesadillas

Squash blossoms are used in many different kinds of Mexican dishes. They are a natural for quesadillas. The make a double appearance in this recipe, first by including several raw squash blossoms and second by using some of the squash blossom salsa that is described in an earlier post. Both are very complimentary.

Ingredients:

8 squash blossoms
4 oz grated Mexican cheese blend, pepper jack or cheddar
4 medium tortillas
squash blossom salsa (see earlier post)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 F. On a cookie sheet make quesadilla one but adding two blossoms, 2 oz cheese and a table spoon of squash blossom salsa to the soft tortilla. Fold over. Create four quessadills total. Put in the oven for 5 minutes or until tortillas is crunchy.

Kick it up:

  1. Use Habernaro cheese 
  2. Add an additional Jalapeno to the squash blossom salsa.
  3. Add some shredded beef or chicken to the quesadilla.
  4. Add some fresh sweet corn to the salsa or quessadilla

Squash Blossom Salsa

A wonderful combination of flavors and textures from unusual ingredients. We have a good supply of squash blossoms now at the farmers market.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup diced sweet onion
1 cup finely diced zucchini or patty pan squash
1 Roma tomato
1-inch piece of jalapeno (more to taste)
4 tablespoons cilantro leaves
1 clove garlic
4 squash blossoms
juice of half a lime

Directions:

  1. Place onion, 1/2 of the squash, the tomato, Jalapeno, cilantro, lime juice, garlic and squash blossoms in a blender and blend until chunky
  2. Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a skillet and add remaining diced squash. Saute over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add the puree from the blender or food processor and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the salsa is thickened and any excess liquid had evaporated. Salt to taste and set aside to cool. Chill in refrigerator.
Serve with chips, quesadillas or tacos.

Kick It Up:
  1. Add some corn.
  2. Add more Jalapeno
  3. Add more tomato
  4. Make a bigger batch with more blossoms and proportionally more other ingredients.


Squash Blossom Pesto With Roasted Pine Nuts (Wow)

We are big fans of pesto and squash blossoms. Combining the two into a Squash Blossom Pesto is a home run. We have an excellent supply of blossoms at our Farmers Market Stand right now. This bright yellow Pesto is great with a small or thin pasta like linguine, angel hair or gnocchi. Try it on bread as a bruschetta or on your favorite pizza instead of a tomato based sauce.

Squash Blossom Pesto:

3 tablespoons pine nuts
A pinch of tumeric
2 cups loosely packed squash blossoms (10-12 blooms, a small bag at our stand)
1/3 cup coarsely grated Parmigiano cheese
1/2 cup extra virin olive oil
pinch of salt.

Directions:

  1. Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet until lightly brown. Don't burn.
  2.  Remove any stems, stamens or hard leaves under the blossom. Drop into food processor and pulse 2-3 times to break up the blossoms. Add the nuts, the cheese, and tumeric. Pulse until everything is chopped. Turn the machine on, drizzle olive oil in slowly. Scrape down the sides as needed. In your cheese is salty go easy on the cheese.
  3. Transfer the pesto to an airtight container and drizzle a very thin layer of olive oil over the top. You can store in the refrigerator for 3-days. Makes 1/2 cup.
  4. If you want to freeze some leave out the cheese.


Grilled Corn with Chipotle Butter

This recipe has a great balance of sweet, spicy and tangy zip from the lime juice. Our sweet corn great all by itself but you can do some interesting and very tasty things with butter. If you are not familiar with how to roast the corn, see below.

Ingredients:

6-12 ears of Petersen's sweet corn husked.
1 stick butter
1-2 Petersen's chipotle peppers minced (pour boiling water over them and let sit 15 minutes)
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon sea salt or mineral salt such a pink salt
Lime wedges

Directions:

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add chipotles minced, fresh lime juice and salt. Reduce heat and cook 1 minute to mix flavors.

Brush fresh corn with the chipotle butter mixture. Cover and refrigerate if needed.

Heat up barbecue. Grill corn until tender and blackened a bit, turn frequently. This should take 5-7 minutes. Serve corn with lime wedges. Drizzle lime juice from wedges on corn just before eating.

Kick it up:

  1. Cover liberally with fresh ground pepper
  2. Salt to taste
  3. Sprinkle with a dash of cayenne pepper (careful this is hot)
  4. Make your own fresh butter with a little cream (yum)



Squash Blossom Soup (Yum!)

Squash blossom are one of the delightful treats of summer. They can be baked, fried, stuffed and sauteed. This recipe is for soup.

Ingredients:

  1. 2 Tablespoons butter
  2. 1 large white sweet onions, chopped into small pieces (Petersen's)
  3. 3 cups chicken stock
  4. 1 small Yukon gold potato, peeled and chopped (Petersen's)
  5. 24 large squash blossoms (Petersens, large bag)
  6. 2 poblano chilies, roast, peeled, deseeded and chopped finely (Petersen's)
  7. 1 cup milk
  8. 1 medium zucchini, chopped finely (Petersen's)
  9. Kernels from a large ear of corn (Petersen's)
  10. 1/2 cup heavy cream
  11. kosher salt
  12. Flat leaf parsley, chopped finely 
Instructions:

  1. Warm butter on low heat until melted, increase heat to medium until butter is bubbling. Add chopped onion, stirring to coat. Cook until the onions are golden, stirring occasionally. Reserve half the onions and set aside.
  2. Add chicken stock and chopped potato to the pot and bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. When boiling, lower the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes
  3. While simmering, prep squash blossoms. Break off stems, peel off sepals (the small leaves that grown from the base and pluck out the stamen. Discard stems, sepals and stamen. No need to be careful the blossoms will eventually be chopped up.
  4. Divide the blossoms into two even piles then slice into 1/4 inch strips (include the blossom base). Add one pile of slices to the simmering stock and cook for 3 minutes. Carefully blend the mixture until smooth. I used my immersion blender. If you don't have one, use a blender, working small batches. Return the mixture back to the pot over medium heat.
  5. Add the chopped, roasted poblano, milk and reserved onion to the soup, stirring to incorporate. Simmer for 10 minutes and then add zucchini and corn. Simmer for another 3 minutes, then add the other pile of sliced squash blossoms. Continue simmering for 2 minutes, then take the mixture off of the heat. Stir in cream and season to taste with kosher salt (several pinches).
  6. Serve in soup bowls and finish with a sprinkle of chopped flat leaf parsley
Serves 6.

Adapted from recipe by Brandon Matzek.


Corn with Cilantro Butter

In the honor of our first week of sweet corn we have been trying different flavored butters. One of the yummy favorites has been Cilantro butter. We have some excellent baby cilantro that works with salsa as well.

Ingredients:

12 ears of corn, husked (Petersens)
One stick of unsalted butter
4 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped (no stems please) (Petersens)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (optional)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt or a good mineral salt (optional)

Directions:

Blend butter, cilantro, and spices in a bowl or food processor. Spread the seasoned butter on hot corn, dust with chili powder and salt if desired, serve immediately.

Kick it Up:

Use extra butter on tuna steaks, chicken breast, or toasted french bread

Friday, August 23, 2013

10 Ways to Use Fresh Squash Blossoms

How do you use Squash Blossoms? let me count the ways. There are many creative ways to use this unique and healthy food. We have a great supply at the market.

These are the 10 best ways we use squash blossoms. Enjoy! Photo Credit: Reed Petersen.
"[above] is what a summer squash plant looks like that we harvest squash blossoms from."




 Photo: Reed Petersen

  1. Stuffed with flavored cheese
  2. Batter fried
  3. Baked with your favorite sprinkle seasoning
  4. Salsa
  5. Pesto
  6. Soup
  7. Quesadillas
  8. Pizza
  9. Raw on Salads
  10. Stuffed with shrimp
Bonus Ideas:
  1. Fritters.
  2. Hush Puppies
  3. On sandwiches
  4. Stuffed with Jalapenos
  5. Stuffed with your favorite homade sausage

Market Menu for August 24, 2013

We will have the following items at the market for Saturday, August 24, 2013 (New items are in Bold Print)

Sweet Corn - Young, Tender, Fresh and Very Sweet

Fresh Cut Basil
Salsa Kits - Red, Green & Squash Blossom
Salsa - Fresh Canned
Hot Peppers - Jalapeno, Publano & Serrano
Tomatoes - slicers, romas, cherries
Tomatillos
Squash Blossoms - Excellent Supply
Beets
Baby Zucchini Squash
Yellow Patty Pan Squash
Red Onions
Slicing Cucumbers - Burpless (Nice)
Mini Cucumbers - Tender, Crisp, Sweet, Bitter-free and Seedless (Top of the Line)
Red & Green Okra
Garlic - New Crop
Leeks
Walla Walla Sweet Jumbo Onions
Chipolini Onions
French Filet Bean - Petite New Row
New Baby Potatoes - Red & Yukon
Baby Spring Mix - Lettuce, Beet Greens, Kale (new lettuce bed this week)
Baby Red Russian Kale - Good Supply
Baby Kale - Regular
Spinach - Good Supply
Arugual - Good Supply, new bed this week
Baby Cilantro
Cress
Sweet Ruby - a fine frilly mustard green, new bed this week
Fresh Cut Herbs - Basil, Mint, Oregano, French Tarragon, Rosemary, Cilantro, Thyme, Dill
Dandelion Greens
Shallots - New Crop
Worm Farms - Red Wigglers, Worm Bedding, Worm Castings
Potting Mix - Made a Fresh Batch This Week
Cipotle Smoked Peppers
Smoked Sun Dried Tomatoes
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Herb Plants
- Rosemary
- Basil - Sweet Italian, Tai, Lemon, Holy - Herb of the Week (see Recipes on the VF Blog)
- Mint - Spearmint, Chocolate, Organge, Apple, Mint Mojito, Mint Julip
- Tyme - English, Posey, Lemon
- Sage, Tricolor Sage
- Dill
- Cilantro
- Chives
Dried Herbs
Lisa's Soap

Monday, August 19, 2013

The Baby Vegetable Farm

A young lady stood in front of our farmers market stand with a quizzical look on her face. Her face turned from puzzlement to a knowing look as she said, "You guys are the baby vegetable farm." She was looking at all the signs that read baby spinach, baby arugula, baby patty pan, baby zucchini, baby beet greens, baby onions, baby carrots, baby cilantro, baby potatoes, baby okra, baby squash blossoms, baby kale, etc.

So why do we harvest everything at the baby size? Because that is the way we like to eat them and we think you will too. We get asked a lot if we plant special designer varieties that are just baby. They say they have never seen vegetables so small that taste so good.

Generally the varieties are regular varieties that are just harvested small. So yes you have seen baby zucchini, you just didn't take the time to pick them small. When you harvest small you need more plants than normal. Like we plant 4 rows of zucchini 300 feet long to get 50 -75 pounds of baby patty pan or zucchini a week. (If you let them get larger, generally one week later, this amount of zucchini would fill my whole pickup.)

I love to harvest greens at the baby stage; they are just perfect for salads without additional prep, catering to the consumer who doesn't have a lot of extra time. The flavor, tenderness and presentation at this stage is truly amazing.

We also like the baby size potatoes, so much so that we crowd our potatoes to keep them small. You don't get the yield you could that way but the percentage of small potatoes is way more and the flavor is still great.

So our very astute and observant customer was on to something. We do have a lot of baby vegetables both by design and through serendipity (the serendipity stories are for another time).

Saturday, August 17, 2013

The Blossoms of Summer Squash

I get asked how to tell male and female squash blossoms apart quite often. Our customers love squash blossoms as one of summers delicate pleasures. But they fear that each flower sacrifices a future baby squash. Is it greedy to consume the flowers and some how cut off the legacy of a future zucchini or patty pan.

Well that thinking is just wrong. Not all blossoms turn into a squash and we can eat these blossoms with full knowledge that we are not damaging the lineage of the plant. Here is a brief lesson in the physiology of the summer squash.

There are two genders of blossom: male and female. Only the female blossom matures into a zucchini or patty pan. The male is there to fertilize the female and resides on a long stem. The female is attached to the tip of the soon to be baby ssquash. But there are many many of the male blossoms and only a few can handle all the female blossoms. When we pick baby zucchini and patty pan, pick them so small that they haven't opened yet so it really doesn't matter, we pick both types of blossoms. But there are more male blossoms.

So that is the long and short of it. If you are trying to grow zucchini seed you would have to leave a few. But otherwise you are doing no harm to pick either.

Basil One of The Worlds Healthiest Foods

Often associated with Italian or Greek cooking, basil is actually one of the most healthy of herbs. From DNA protection to anti-bacterial properties basil is amazingly versatile and health promoting.

In many plants there are active nutrients called flavonoids that protect us at the cellular level. In studies on human with blood cells; these flavonoids in basil protect cell strutures and even chromosomes from radiation and oxidation.

Basil can also protect against bacterial growth, through its volatile oils. Lab studies show that basil can restrict the growth of numerous bacteria. Essential oil of basil, can inhibit several species of pathogenic bacteria that are resistance to some of the more commonly used antibiotics.

Basil oils can also block the COX enzyme just like many over the counter anti-inflammatory medications. This anti-inflammatory food can provide relief for people suffering from inflammatory health problems like arthritis.

Basil and its oils can inhibit free radical damage and is a good source of magnesium which promotes cardiovascular health by prompting muscles and blood vessels to relax.

Basil is also a good source of iron, calcium, potassium, vitamin C, vitamin A and vitamin K.


Reference: Worlds Healthiest Foods, whfoods.org.

A Simple Fresh Salsa Recipe

A salsa kit contains all the vegetables that it takes to make a great salsa. Once the tomatoes start we offer this weekly. It can vary a little from week to week early in the season, don't worry about the exact proportions, about anything works. The kit typically contains the following:

  • Tomatoes
  • Bell Peppers
  • Jalapeno
  • Sweet Onions
  • Tomatillo
  • Garlic
  • Cilantro
  • Salt and Lime to Taste (not included)
We suggest you add salt and lime, but we don't grow those so they aren't included.

It would typically be about twice the cost to gather up all the ingredients separately so this is a pretty good deal. Makes 1.5 quarts of salsa.

A Simple Fresh Salsa Recipe

Instructions to assembly your salsa. It is easiest to use a food processor, but you can make salsa with just a sharp knife.

Chop up the garlic, cilantro and jalapeno first (if you want it hotter, leave the seeds in, otherwise remove the seeds). Add bell peppers, tomatillo and sweet onions and pulse the food process several times to chop. Cut tomatoes into quarters and pulse again to chop. If you want chunky only pulse a couple of times. If you want a smoother salsa, pulse a few more times.

Enjoy!

Kick it Up:
  • Add some of Petersen's sweet corn, cut kernels off the ear (a great way to use up leftovers)
  • Add black beans
  • Add chipotles
  • Add more Jalapenos
  • Double the recipe size with your own tomatoes or buy some extra

Friday, August 16, 2013

Market Menu for August 17

We will have the following items at the market for Saturday, August 17, 2013 (New items are in Bold Print)

Sweet Corn - A Very Limite Supply

Fresh Cut Basil
Salsa Kits
Tomatoes - slicers, romas, cherries
Tomatillos
Baby Zucchini Squash
Yellow Patty Pan Squash
Red Onions
Slicing Cucumbers - Burpless (Nice)
Mini Cucumbers - Tender, Crisp, Sweet, Bitter-free and Seedless (Top of the Line)
Red Okra
Garlic - New Crop
Leeks
Walla Walla Sweet Jumbo Onions
Chipolini Onions
Green Onions
Radishes - Red
French Filet Bean
New Baby Potatoes - Red & Yukon
Baby Spring Mix - Lettuce, Beet Greens, Kale (new lettuce bed this week)
Baby Red Russian Kale - Good Supply
Baby Kale - Regular
Spinach - limited supply for one more week
Arugual - Good Supply, new bed this week
Baby Cilantro
Fresh Cut Basil
Cress
Sweet Ruby - a fine frilly mustard green, new bed this week
Fresh Cut Herbs - Basil, Mint, Oregano, French Tarragon, Rosemary, Cilantro, Thyme
Dandelion Greens
Shallots - New Crop
Worm Farms - Red Wigglers, Worm Bedding, Worm Castings
Potting Mix - Made a Fresh Batch This Week
Cipotle Smoked Peppers
Smoked Sun Dried Tomatoes
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Herb Plants
- Rosemary
- Basil - Sweet Italian, Tai, Lemon, Holy - Herb of the Week (see Recipes on the VF Blog)
- Mint - Spearmint, Chocolate, Organge, Apple, Mint Mojito, Mint Julip
- Tyme - English, Posey, Lemon
- Sage, Tricolor Sage
- Cilantro
- Chives
Dried Herbs
Lisa's Soap

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Beware the Cat with the Deaf Eye

If we are honest we all know a house cat or barn cat that just wasn't quite the same as the other cats. Well Louie was one of those weird cats a few years ago. We raised him from a kitten, but somewhere along the way he took ill and was never quite the same. He had a cataract in one eye and walked kinda sideways and his feet would cross over some like he was about ready to trip himself. He was sort of yellow and had a crook in his tail. You know how cats kinda vibrate their tail when they get excited. Well this cat did too and it always seemed like he was pointing at you when he did that, because of the kink in his tail.

Reed was  in first or second grade and he kinda liked this old cat.

Monday, August 12, 2013

Deer Annoy Me Two (the Sequel)

This is getting ridiculous. We had deer take a couple of nibbles of carrots, which was no big deal. But sometime between the end of the day Friday and Sunday afternoon, they came back and ate a 100 foot row. They don't usually bother until the late fall. They also ate a couple of watermelon, which were about 4 weeks from being ready. Enough is enough, Reed and I put an electric fence covering approximately three acres Sunday afternoon. We put it on the hottest setting, so hold onto your lighting rods. We have had no deer problems since.

They got into some carrots and beets a few weeks ago and we did the same thing to a very small area until we could get them harvested. They just go crazy over the carrots so I guess they must be good.

A week ago they were in the sweet corn and I got out a very aggressive fencer that runs off of a battery and can drive a fence 30 miles long. I put the more aggressive fencer around the sweet corn because in a week or so I need to put a couple more wires on the fence to keep out raccoons, who are also very annoying.

We also ran a wire around the tomatoes, which seemed to be disappearing, in exchange for lots of hoof prints in between the rows.

I think God put some of these animals in Minnesota to try our patience and test the sweetness of our vocabulary.

Saturday, August 10, 2013

A Minnesota Paella

I first had a paella at Nosh Restaurant in Lake City, Minnesota. It is one of Greg Jaworski's signature dishes and is typically on the menu in any season. Greg is a weekly customer at the Rochester Downtown Farmers Market and buys greens (spinach, spring mix, arugula, ruby sweet, cress, baby kale), patty pan and carrots from our stand during the season. I'd highly recommend Nosh Restaurant and Greg's paella to you.

We had the fresh ingredients on hand so I thought I would make a paella for supper Saturday night after the market last week. The paella is a rice dish that originated in Spain near Valencia. It is very popular and is often considered  to be Spain's national dish. There are many variations. Greg makes his paella with his own house sausage and seafood including clams. A typical paella also includes vegetables, beans, short grain rice, saffron and olive oil. Paella is derived from the Old French word for pan, which comes from the Latin word patella for pan as well (I put that in here because my children have had 6-7 years of Latin in school and I thought they might recognize it.) Traditional paella is cooked over an open fire, fueled by orange and pine branches with pine cones, which produces an aromatic smoke which infuses the paella (I didn't go quite that far for authenticity.)

Ingredients:

  1. Saffron rice. (I just bought a Spanish saffron rice and followed the directions. You could also add turmeric to rice to get the golden color.) 2 cups
  2. Patty Pan (Petersen's) 1/2 pint
  3. Yellow Zucchini Summer Squash (Petersen's) 1/2 pint
  4. Sweet Onion -minced (Petersen's) (1 large)
  5. French Fillet Beans -cut in half, with stems and tips removed (Petersen's) 1/2 pound
  6. Garlic Minced (Petersen's) 2 cloves
  7. Italian Sweet Sausage (You can make your own or uses your favorite)
  8. Large Shrimp - 1/2 pound
  9. Cajun Style Andouille Sausage Links (cut into bit sized pieces)
  10. Paprika - tsp
  11. Turmeric - tsp
  12. Salt - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Directions:

In a large sauce pan prepare the rice according to the directions on the package. Takes 30 minutes.

In a large skillet cook the sausage thoroughly, leave in 1 inch chunks, let caramelize a little on the outside. When the sausage is almost done add the onions, garlic and shrimp. Cook another 5 minutes until shrimp is done. Add the patty pan, zucchini, and green beans. Cook lightly, leaving the vegetables crunchy. Add paprika, turmeric and salt.

In an official paella you have a paella pan and put the rice in the bottom, stir with the vegetables and meat and cook on a open fire or in the oven for 5-10 minutes after combining all ingredients. You want the rice to scorch a little on the bottom. I didn't do that.

I served the rice and meat/vegetables separately in bowls, letting each family member select the quantity of each (I wasn't sure everyone would like everything). Reed really likes shrimp so he took a disproportionate amount of that. 

For this same meal, Jenna made leek fritters with lime and sour cream. That is for another post.

Summer Greens Are Amazing

For the freshest, just out of the garden flavor, visit our farmers market stand for some amazing greens. We are at the market right now getting set-up (I wrote and scheduled this post at 4:00 this morning.) I think the cooler weather over the last few weeks has contributed to the exceptional flavor. We have:

  1. Baby spinach is back after taking a break for a few weeks.
  2. Spring mix with gorgeous baby kale, 4 varieties of lettuce, baby beet greens and a touch of sweet ruby
  3. Red Russian Kale micro greens, very small
  4. Baby Kale
  5. Arugula, Arugula, Arugula zesty and fresh
  6. Sweet Ruby
  7. Cress
  8. Dandelion Greens
Don't miss the fresh basil and cilantro. 

We picked 20 pounds of beautiful basil yesterday evening. Stand half way between the onions and the basil for the Italian experience.

Friday, August 9, 2013

Market Menu for August 10

We will have the following items at the market for Saturday, August 10, 2013 (New items are in Bold Print)

Tomatoes - slicers, romas, cherries
Tomatillos
Baby Zucchini Squash
Yellow Patty Pan Squash
Red Onions
Slicing Cucumbers - Burpless (Nice)
Mini Cucumbers - Tender, Crisp, Sweet, Bitter-free and Seedless (Top of the Line)
Raspberries (Red Champagne Berries, better come early)
Red Okra
Garlic - New Crop
Leeks
Walla Walla Sweet Jumbo Onions
Chipolini Onions
Green Onions
Radishes - Red
French Filet Bean
New Baby Potatoes - Red & Yukon
Baby Spring Mix - Lettuce, Beet Greens, Kale (new lettuce bed this week)
Baby Red Russian Kale - Good Supply
Baby Kale - Regular
Spinach - limited supply for one more week
Arugual - Good Supply, new bed this week
Baby Cilantro
Fresh Cut Basil
Cress
Sweet Ruby - a fine frilly mustard green, new bed this week
Fresh Cut Herbs - Basil, Mint, Oregano, French Tarragon, Rosemary, Cilantro, Thyme
Dandelion Greens
Shallots - New Crop
Worm Farms - Red Wigglers, Worm Bedding, Worm Castings
Potting Mix - Made a Fresh Batch This Week
Cipotle Smoked Peppers
Smoked Sun Dried Tomatoes
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Herb Plants
- Rosemary
- Basil - Sweet Italian, Tai, Lemon, Holy - Herb of the Week (see Recipes on the VF Blog)
- Mint - Spearmint, Chocolate, Organge, Apple, Mint Mojito, Mint Julip
- Tyme - English, Posey, Lemon
- Sage, Tricolor Sage
- Cilantro
- Chives
Dried Herbs
Lisa's Soap

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

How to Grow Great Radishes All Summer Long


Radishes are mistakenly thought of as a “flash in the pan” spring crop. This once and done mentality deprives the radish lover of some delightful summer and fall crops.


The key to a continuous supply is to succession plant. Only plant what you will use in a week or two, but plant more radishes every two weeks. If you don’t use them when they are ready, pull them and put them in the compost pile, then plant some more.

In the heat of the summer radishes can become more strong flavored and pithy (woody). A rich environment (lots of compost) that is well weeded and has a steady supply of water, will keep this heat to a minimum. We have had radishes as large as a tennis ball be very nice and not a bit woody using this approach.

Fall is another time when radishes really shine. You can plant and harvest until freeze up.

I’ve mentioned in the post on How to Grow Organic Carrots that radishes can be planted at the same time as carrots and harvested as the carrots are emerging or still very small. They essentially become an edible row marker and protect the carrots for a week or two. Never under estimate the micro climates that a crop canopy can create around the plant. Radishes can shield the very fragile carrots at a time when they are vulnerable. 

Cherry Belle is a good standard radish. We have tried some other varieties with good success. Since they are typically 20-25 days to harvest you can try several varieties in a season.

Monday, August 5, 2013

The Lavendar People

Credit: Reed Petersen
Photo Credit: Reed Petersen
There are some unspoken rules in farming, like you don't sneak up on someone while they are running noisy farm equipment and you don't drive all over in the field looking for them. It is customary to catch their attention from the road or gate into the field and "get their permission" to enter or have them come to you.

It was about this time last year, when in their excitement the "Lavender People" broke all the rules. This is the story about how these  folks got to be called the "Lavender People" by the our teens and me.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Baby Patty Pan, Zucchini and Kale White Sauce

I made a delightful white sauce with very small Patty Pan and Zucchini squash, Baby Kale and Sweet Onions last weekend. We will have all of these at our market stand this week. I used Ricotta cheese as the base for the sauce. You can get hand made pasta at the Farmer's Market, or use any pasta you wish. I used bow tie pasta as I had that on hand.

It was very good, give it a whirl.

Ingredients:

1 box of patty pan squash (Petersen's)
1 box of baby zucchini squash, tips and stems remove and sliced into bite sized pieces (Petersen's)
Large bag of baby kale (Petersen's)
Large Sweet Onion, diced (Petersen's)
8 oz of Low Fat Ricotta Cheese
1 cups of low fat milk
white pepper to taste
salt to taste
pinch of cayenne or chipotle pepper
1 clove of garlic, minced (Petersen's)
1 tsp of arrow root starch or corn starch dissolved in a small amount of cold water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound pasta of your choice (bow tie, spiral, penne)

Directions:

Prepare pasta of choice and drain while finishing sauce (most pastas take 8-10 minutes to cook)

Saute onion with olive oil and garlic. When on)ion is starting to soften add patty pan and zucchini. Cook about 2 minutes (don't over cook squash). Stir in Ricotta cheese and milk, salt, pepper and cayenne. Warm up to where it just starts to bubble, add arrow root starch to thicken. Bring back to a simmer and add kale. Wilt kale and gentle stir into the sauce. Serve over pasta.

Kick It Up:

Serve Over Potatoes (Petersen's)
Serve Over Saffron Rice
Serve Over Seafood like scallops or shrimp
Add a little more cayenne.
Add some fresh Rosemary (Petersen's)
Add some fresh Basil instead of Kale, price is the same at our stall (Petersen's)
Add some fresh Thyme (Petersen's)
Add more garlic or several shallots. (Petersen's)




Friday, August 2, 2013

Market Menu for August 3

We will have the following items at the market for Saturday, June 27, 2013 (New items are in Bold Print)

Baby Zucchini Squash
Yellow Patty Pan Squash
Red Onions
Slicing Cucumbers - Burpless (Nice)
Mini Cucumbers - Tender, Crisp, Sweet, Bitter-free and Seedless (Top of the Line)
Raspberries (Red Champagne Berries, better come early)
Okra
Garlic - New Crop
Leeks
Walla Walla Sweet Jumbo Onions
Chipolini Onions
Green Onions
Radishes - Red
French Filet Bean
New Baby Potatoes - Red & Yukon
Baby Spring Mix - Lettuce, Beet Greens, Kale (new lettuce bed this week)
Baby Red Russian Kale - Good Supply
Baby Kale - Regular
Spinach - limited supply for one more week
Arugual - Good Supply
Baby Cilantro
Fresh Cut Basil
Cress
Sweet Ruby - a fine frilly mustard green, Mizuna
Fresh Cut Herbs - Basil, Mint, Oregano, French Tarragon, Rosemary, Cilantro, Thyme
Dandelion Greens
Shallots - New Crop
Worm Farms - Red Wigglers, Worm Bedding, Worm Castings
Potting Mix - Made a Fresh Batch This Week
Cipotle Smoked Peppers
Smoked Sun Dried Tomatoes
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Herb Plants
- Rosemary
- Basil - Sweet Italian, Tai, Lemon, Holy - Herb of the Week (see Recipes on the VF Blog)
- Mint - Spearmint, Chocolate, Organge, Apple, Mint Mojito, Mint Julip
- Tyme - English, Posey, Lemon
- Sage, Tricolor Sage
- Cilantro
- Chives
Dried Herbs
Lisa's Soap

Be A Carrot, It Is Worth The Wait

A few weeks ago I planted 100,000 candy carrots. This quantity of seeds planted 7 rows 400 feet each or about 2800 feet (about a 1/2 mile) of row. It takes 14-21 days for the carrots seed to germinate and emerge. The tricky part about planting carrots in the summer is keeping them moist enough to germinate if you hit a dry stretch of weather. I have learned to plant carrots at this time of the year where I can get a hose to them to water.

For this particular planting I did something a little unusual in that I planted the rows about 20 inches apart. I normally plant them about 40 inches apart so I can use the rototiller to weed between the rows. So this is about twice the planting density I normally do. I did this to experiment with my new Hoss wheel hoe, which can weed a much narrower row. If everything goes as planned we will have some outstanding and delicious carrots for late summer and fall.

I was reading about how carrots send down a tap root seeking moisture even before the spindly little fronds appear. Sounds like carrots have their priorities straight. They seek moisture and nutrients and anchor themselves before making an appearance on the world stage. Pretty slick trick by a wise master designer. All that going on before we can see anything. No wonder it takes a couple of weeks before they emerge.

You've heard the old adage that if you want to grow a squash it only takes 6 weeks. If you want an oak it might take a couple of hundred years.

Well now, we know that if you want to grow a carrot (and see it emerge) you must be patient for three weeks until the magic is worked beneath the soil. If you want to grow a radish it only take 3 days for it to emerge and the whole life cycle is only 21 days. So the radish is ready to pick when the carrot is just coming up. But the amazing sweetness of the carrot is something to behold and well worth the wait.

As a farmer, the carrot offers a little more challenge and a lot more reward. Isn't it funny how that works.

Be a carrot; it is well worth the wait.