Shallots: the Jewel of the Allium Family

If garlic is the rose and onions are the pearl, then shallots are the jewel of the Allium family. We picked a few shallots for market this week, they are getting close to full maturity. They are beautiful big shallots. We typically plant in a double row like we do onions and we used lots of organic fertilizer. One of the rows was planted to a single row and had the benefit of enough fertilizer for two, so the shallots are really jumbo in that row.

Shallots have the delicate garlic flavor that the gourmet chefs love to use to give dishes that light fresh taste so unique to shallots. They don't yield as well as onions so they are a little more expensive but they are well worth it. Fresh shallots are amazing.

Starting this week we will have new crop shallots. We just finished the last of the shallots from 2012 so they keep amazingly well. Very few sprout at normal conditions, unlike onions, that often sprout if the conditions aren't just perfect. Yet they know when to grow very quickly when planted in the soil in the spring.

We keep our own shallots for seed from year to year. I got the original seed from Peaceful Valley Farm Supply, in Grass Valley, CA about 10 years ago. They are French shallots. Unlike garlic where you want to plant the biggest cloves possible, small shallots can grow several large shallots the next year if given excellent conditions.

I see in the seed catalogs you can start shallots from seed but I have never tried it. Seems like they'd not have enough time to size up. But I can't speak from experience. When you grow shallots from shallots you keep from the previous year that is called a set, just like it is for onions; which make them identical.

Shallots are a green leafy plant that likes extra nitrogen for the first 1/3 of the growing season. Then when we hit the long days near the end of June the shallots become storage machines and really start putting on the pounds. We back off on the fertilizer and watch the amazing transformation. They need an inch of water a week until the last two weeks before harvest, when they need to dry down and cure.

I'll include some recipes using shallots in future blogs.

If You Are At The Head of the Class You May Be in the Wrong Class

As students we strive to be at the head of the class and we should strive for the highest levels of learning. As adults we should still strive for the highest levels of learning but I'm not sure being at the "head of the class" is always the best strategy. Think about it, if you are the best performer in your work group, you probably aren't challenged and aren't learning as much as you could. Same thing applies to farming. If you are the best of the farmers in your peer group and aren't being challenged to new ideas and better methods then you are going to stagnate quickly.

So what to do?

Seek out a group where you are not the best and the brightest. A group that you can learn from and grow with. Find a group with new and different ideas. Learn how to use the technology better and how to use new resources. Sometimes I think that we need to think small as well as think big. Small farmers are often the best innovators. The big guys just don't have the time.

Read good books. Zig Ziegler said, "If you don't read, you can't lead". He meant that a good leader will always be challenging his mind with the best ideas and literature. Biographies of great leaders are a good place to start. Great speeches in time of war or social transition are also a good source of ideas and learning. Reading doesn't always mean sitting down with a book either. For me the cab of my pick-up and tractor is a class room of listening to books, speeches, and pod casts.

Ask to spend time with someone who has achieved what you would like to achieve in 10 to 15 years. Learn what they do that creates a successful environment. If you want to be a millionaire you need to do what millionaires do. If you want to be a successful organic farmer you need to learn and then master those skills.

What are the goals you want to achieve. What are your goals for your family. They say it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert and there is research to back that up. So what ever you sent your mind to do that sooner you get to it, the sooner you will reach your goals. But just because you have spent 10,000 hours, there is always someone who has spent 30,000 hours or 50,000 hours. There is always someone who learns quicker or who has worked harder.

So next time you are feeling like you are at the head of the class consider what that means and look to expand your horizons, try something new and learn from those that have more experience.

Minnesota Gumbo

As related in an earlier post on okra, Lisa and I honeymooned in New Orleans 26 years ago. We sampled many of the local specialties and one of the best was the local gumbo. I've made gumbo many times and have adapted it to Minnesota and what is available locally in the summer.

The word gumbo is derived from African words for okra. Gumbo is a stew that can take many forms, one of the common threads through most gumbos is okra, which we are starting to sell this week at the farmers market.

Minnesota Ingredients:

1 cup of oil (coconut, butter or bacon grease)
1 cup of whole wheat flour
2 pounds Okra with stems and tips removed (Petersen)
1 large onion, diced (Petersen)
1 large green bell pepper, diced (Petersen)
4 stalks of celery, diced (Petersen)
1 pound of smoked pork sausage, sliced 1/4 inch thick (farmers market)
4 large cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
6 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
4 chicken breasts, diced or shredded
Creole seasoning (optional)

Directions:

1. Whisk flour into the oil a roux is formed, about 8-10 minutes and the roux is the color of chocolate
2. Cook the okra until the sap has disappeared.
3. Mix the onion, bell pepper, celery, and sausage into the roux, cook for approximately 5 minutes. Mix in the garlic and cook another 5 minutes. Add the okra. Season; mix thoroughly. Pour chicken broth and add the bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium-low, and simmer, uncovered for about an hour, mix occasionally. Stir in chicken, and simmer another hour.
4. Serve over a bed of rice.

Kick It Up

1. Many gumbos use seafood such as fish or shrimp.
2. You can add more spice by adding the creole seasoning.
3. A jalapeno or two will also add some spice.
4. Ham is also a common gumbo meat.
5. You can add some heirloom tomatoes to thicken the sauce.

A Simple Arugula Pesto

With the taste of Arugula Pesto still fresh on my tongue I thought I would write down the recipe. We has some really nice baby leaf arugula at the market today. It had a nice full flavor without being too spicy as arugula can be in the summer months. We succession plant every few weeks to keep our greens top quality.

The unique thing about ARUGULA pesto is it stays bright green even during cooking.

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh ARUGULA leaves, packed
2 cloves garlic (1 clove if you don't like strong garlic or if they are very large)
1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts (you can toast or use raw)
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese

Directions

Process ARUGULA, garlic and nuts in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Add oil slowly and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in cheese if using immediately. If freezing leave the cheese out.

We used the pesto as a bruschetta on some fresh bread. We toasted our bread and that mellows the ARUGULA a little for a spicier pesto toast the bread and then put the pesto on it right before serving.

ARUGULA pesto works well on pasta and can be used to stuff squash blossoms.

Arugula and New Baby Potato Salad

Potato salad is one of the staples of of the summer time menu. Small new baby potatoes are the most flavorful and beat the socks off the storage varieties in the stores. Our arugula is also way more flavorful than store bought arugula. I think it is the minerals in our soil that punch up the flavor. These two vegetables are dynamite in the traditional potato salad with a little kick!

One of the keys to a good potato salad is to mix the dressing and the potatoes before the potatoes cool so the dressing is soaked up by the cooling potatoes.

Ingredients:

1. 2 lbs new potatoes, baby red or Yukon gold
2. 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
3. 1/4 cup mayonnaise (you can make your own fresh if you'd like)
4. 3 small sweet onions like Walla Walla or Alisa Craig
5. 2 cups of arugula leaves, baby sized or roughly chop bigger leaves
6. 1 small bunch fresh dill, chop dill weed finely

Directions:

Fill a 5 quart pot 3/4 full of water. Bring to a boil and add potatoes. Simmer for 20-30 minutes or until you can pierce the potatoes easily with a knife or fork. Drain potatoes and put them back in the pot. Slice warm potatoes into quarters. Add to a large mixing bowl.

Mix.together the yogurt and mayonnaise. Toss the potatoes with the dressing, then toss with the onions, arugula and dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Let rest in the refrigerator for an hour before serving.

Market Menu for June 27

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

Raspberries (limited supply, better come early)
Okra
Garlic - New Crop
Leeks
Walla Walla Sweet Jumbo Onions
Chipolini Onions
Green Onions
Radishes - Red
Baby Spring Mix - Lettuce, Beet Greens, Kale (new lettuce bed this week)
Baby Red Russian Kale - Good Supply
Baby Kale - Regular
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 - Herb of the Week
- Chives
Cherry Tomato Plants (Great Selection)
Harvest by August 30
- Black Cherry
- Sun Gold
- Red Grape
- Yellow Pear
- Sunshine Yellow
- Sweet 100.
Pepper Plants
- Red Bell
- Yellow Bell
- Jalapeno, Serrano, Anaheim, Pablano
- Habernaro
Dried Herbs
Lisa's Soap

Is Okra a Vegetable for Dixie, Ya Shure?

Many of our customer seem very surprise when we start bringing Okra to market each year. Especially those that are from the south and new to town. "I thought Okra was a southern vegetable!" is the common refrain.

Well take it from an old Scandinavian. It just tain't so!

It takes a little doing but you can grow Okra in Minnesota. We typically get about a 60 day harvest window before the frost stops all the Okra festivities. Okra is very sensitive to cold; similar to basil in that respect.

Lisa and I were first exposed to Okra 25 years ago when we were on our honeymoon in New Orleans. We had a stew or soup called Gumbo that had lots of Okra in it. We had other strange foods while we were there like oysters on the half shell and blackened red fish (sounds colorful). I bought a New Orleans cook book and tried to grow some of the main ingredients.

I had promised to take Lisa some place where they had a beach for our honeymoon. I figured Lake Pontchcartrain had a beach and never checked any further. Well wouldn't you know it they only had a levee and not a beach. We looked all over but no beach.  We had fun anyway, but she reminds me that I still owe her a beach. You'd think that a French Quarter would be good enough. But I digress...

It is our anniversary today, so I guess I'm doing a little reminiscing.

I ran across a YouTube video a while back where an old gentleman with a thick southern accent was showing how he picked Okra. It was really comical. He had an electric golf cart that he drove along the Okra rows and picked Okra from the seat of his golf cart. He picked about 15 pounds that way and then showed his viewers how he froze the fresh Okra for use during the winter. The interesting thing was the Okra plants he was picking was 6-7 feet tall. It looked like a jungle. He'd reach in and snap off the pods. Very educational!

Because of our short growing season Our Okra never gets over 3-4 feet tall. See my post earlier this season on how we grow Okra.

I'll put a recipe for gumbo in a future post. It has lots of good vegetables in it that are typically available as soon as the Okra is.

Oh, by the way we are starting to harvest Okra this week. It might take a couple of weeks before all the plants are bearing and we have a large quantity.

Ya'll come get some. Ya shure!

We Want to be Your Farmer

"We want to be your farmer"

Not only our purpose statement but also articulates our goals and dreams.

Wouldn't you want to work with and buy from a family that pledges their allegiance to the health of your family?

A pledge that results in stewardship of the land to produce clean vegetables, just picked flavor, unique products, and organic growing methods; a family that is your friend, that greets you with smile,  that cares about your produce needs, that can coach you on food preparation techniques, that can advise you on food preservation, and that invests your food dollar locally.

"We want to be your farmer."

This is a repost for our new blog visitors.

How to Pick Smooth or Savoyed Spinach

I prefer Savoyed-Leaf spinach over Smooth-Leaf for the Farmers Market as I think the presentation is better. Savoyed-Leaf has better loft and fills the bag better. Smooth-Leaf packs down in the bag more. From a flavor stand point I can't tell the difference.

The savoyed varieties like Tyee have good powdery mildue resistance and resistance to other diseases.

I had some problems with damping off of seedlings last year. Turns out good old food grade hydrogen peroxide can help with this. Don't use the medicinal kind as that has preservatives. You can get a quart of food grade H2O2 at the Peoples Food Coop. Be careful handling it, as 35% can burn your skin.

Deer Annoy Me and What To Do About It

Deer Annoy Me! 

Mostly deer in the garden are a nuisance.

We typically try to distract them with delectable things they can eat in great abundance and get them trained to walk away from the garden crops they would eat. I planted some really nice alfalfa and vetch in one of the main routes to the river to get water. I also have four 500 foot rows of very prickly raspberries between the woods and one of our prime growing areas, this forms a natural fence, if you will (or at least it will when it is all filled in). 

The times the deer have been frustrating are:

• Eating one bite out of the center of 100 heads of lettuce the week before they were ready for market. They could have eaten several heads and I would have not cared, but no, they had ruin them all. That was the point at which we switched to growing baby cut lettuce. Of course they pretty much leave these alone during the main part of the season and I often use electric fence towards the end of the season.
• They often eat the tips off the green beans and edamame. I can handle this as they typically don’t eat enough to prevent blooming and beans. Maybe this actually concentrates the crop a little, by eliminating the last few stragglers.
• Deer like sweet corn just like we do. I can share a few ears. But last year they ate all my popcorn. I don’t know what the big attraction was.
• The last few years the deer have been especially aggressive with eating our late fall carrots. I think at this point of the season they are craving carbohydrates and just go wild after the carrots. I couldn’t deter them with an electric fence so we just had to harvest the crop. Maybe Cody the dog could help out here. He doesn’t much like carrots, but he does like chasing deer.
• I’ve tried the stinky deer repellent sprays and I think the only thing they repel is me.
• If they aren't too aggressive, blood meal can discourage the deer from munching on your favorite plants. But has to be reapplied after each rain. I sometimes use it as a spot treatment when I seen problems develop. It is also a great high nitrogen fertilizer for your early spring pansies.