Clean Slate!

Know what this is?

It's our first batch of the Easiest, Best Tomato Sauce Ever! In other words, it's everything we couldn't keep up with last week (while on vacation), roasted and pureed.

I found the recipe in a book called The Quarter Acre Farm by Spring Warren. It's a cool book AND blog about growing enough food on an average residential lot to feed a small family. This is the book I credit with inspiring me to try this:

Yep, those are home-grown carrots! Gerry and I took the plunge and planted our first little raised bed with carrots and parsnips. Farmer Neil didn't sound too optimistic about our chances of growing parsnips, but so far they seem to be doing quite well! We're keeping our fingers crossed that we'll have parsnips for Thanksgiving dinner!

Anyway, about Spring and The Quarter Acre Farm. What I love about Spring is her matter of fact approach to gardening. If she runs into a problem, she just does a little research and experiments with something new. She takes some wrong turns, but it's all part of the process. I don't think there's another gardening book out there that I, a non-gardener, would have enjoyed as much as hers.

And this recipe--what's not to love about a recipe that frankly addresses a problem common to almost everyone? Sometimes you just can't keep up and find yourself with an odd assortment of produce past its prime. This is a GREAT way to give yourself a clean slate without adding to the compost pile!

The recipe is a snap, but do pay attention to the warning to use at least two-thirds tomatoes in your mix. We went a little light on the tomatoes once, and the sauce was a very unappetizing shade of brown!

The next recipe we're trying from the site is Zucchini Noodles! Don't they look fun?

Progress Report

Remember our little oregano plant from Week Two?

Not only is it still alive, but it's thriving!

That's a BIG pot it's planted in!

40 Shades of Green

Bonus points to you if you know what this post's title refers to!

When Gerry and I picked up our share last week, we took a spin around the farm to visit all the veggies and see how things were progressing. You might recognize some of these things from this week's share!

I'm always fascinated by how the cucumbers are grown on trellises in the greenhouse. They are like cucumber trees!

This is what it looked like in there back in February, with the bags awaiting their plants.

One is ready for picking, while a baby is just starting out alongside of it.



Tomato-lovers, this week was just a taste of things to come! The plants are loaded with 'maters, and it won't be long 'til you're enjoying them!


This was a new one for me--radicchio. I expected the whole plant to be purple!

Mmm. I'm glad the rabbits can't get at this!

And there's that beautiful bok choy.

Tomato Fest

Because I'm not a fan of tomatoes, I haven't been paying too much attention to the different varieties in our shares. Here's a list of the heirloom varieties which could show up in your share:

Amish Paste-red, 8oz, oblong, heart shaped
Black Prince-dark red purple, 6oz, Russian heirloom
Cherokee Purple-burgundy, 10-12oz,
Garden Peach-yellow, 2-4oz, skin has a peach fuzz
Mr. Stripey (Hillbilly)-16oz, orange-yellow fruit
Prudens Purple-dark pink, 10-16oz
Carolina Gold-yellow, 10-12oz
Sun Gold Cherry-orange
Sweet Chelsea Cherry-red 1oz, intense fruity flavor
Piriform-red pear shaped with ribs, 7-9oz from Italy
Black Japanese Tiffle-dark red pear shape with ribs

Here's what we got this week (minus three which had already been eaten):

Different colors, different sizes, different shapes. Sadly, I don't know one from the other. I was looking for Mr. Stripey, though, because I've been following his progress over the past couple of months. I first spotted him as a mere sprout in the greenhouse.

Then he graduated to a spot in the field. I haven't seen him lately, as I haven't been making the pick ups. Hope you've enjoyed your summer, Mr. Stripey! I'm sure tomato lovers have been enjoying you!

Sprouts

The last time I went to the farm with my camera, Neil showed us some flats of squash seedlings that some of the members had worked on. I don't know if it was the sheer number of them or what, but I noticed something about the leaves that I've never noticed before:

The leaves on the little sprouts aren't all the same shape. Like a dummy, I said something about it, and Neil explained about how the first two leaves are some kind of special ones that emerge before the plant's true leaves. Of course I forgot everything he said by now, but I looked it up! They're called cotyledons, and they have something to do with how the seed is fed, etc. (Click the link to read more.) I've probably seen this a hundred times, but it never dawned on me that those first leaves are DIFFERENT! Wow!

CSA Lunch

I feel like a slouch, because there haven't been many "Look what we ate!" posts, but we've been eating much of our stuff unadorned. Corn on the cob, tomatoes, cantaloupe--it's all delicious just the way it is!

Today's lunch, which I'm eating right now, is a sliced peach, a handful of endive and pea tops with some cucumber slices, and a piece of zucchini bread. Our handout from the farm this week suggested using the endive/pea top mix as an addition to other salad greens, but it's what we had in the fridge, so I'm just eating it as-is. Surprisingly, I'm not balking at the endive's slight bitterness like I once would have.

I am thrilled that we're getting cucumbers again! They were such a treat in the first few weeks, and I was sad to hear they'd been invaded by pests. Neil showed me some babies on the vine a few weeks ago. Can you see this one? It was about an inch long!

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

Man! I had no idea tomato plants could get so tall! Gerry is over six feet tall, and those things were just towering over him. I asked him to stand next to one and act like a tomato.

Weak Week

This has been a terrible week for us. Because of work schedules, we haven't had a chance to sit down to eat together at all, and I am pretty grumpy about it. So, instead of showing pictures of what we've cooked, I'm posting pictures of some of the things we've gotten in our shares over the past couple of weeks and trying to look on the bright side.

Isn't it great knowing exactly where this stuff came from? Nothing had to be driven from California or Mexico or who knows where. It's from PERKASIE! It was grown by a guy whose name I know and who I've actually talked to! And even though we haven't yet had a chance to eat much from this week's share, it's all still lovely and fresh, because it didn't sit spend that time on a truck or sitting in a warehouse.

That's pretty cool. And I feel better now. :-)

Cabbage for Coneheads

I just plugged "arrowhead cabbage" into Google, and WOW it's a popular CSA offering! I didn't find a lot of facts about arrowhead cabbage specifically, but if you're looking for a recipe, there are plenty of them out there. Two that looked really good are a cabbage pallya and a cabbage and radish slaw. Basically, if you shred it up and use any sort of vaguely Asian dressing on it, you should be good to go. Arrowhead cabbage is said to have thin, tender, and sweet leaves that are wonderful eaten raw. Of course, being cabbage, it has practically no calories, so let loose with the dressing--why not?

Won't Be Long Now

For anyone anxiously awaiting tomatoes, here's a look at how they were doing last week!

Gerry just kept taking deep breaths to enjoy the smell of tomato plants. I've never eaten a tomato, so this should be...interesting!

A Quick One, If You Peas

Nothing too exotic today. We had a steamed mixture of asparagus, carrots, and peas. I've had peas before, although never cooked, but it wasn't too much of a reach. I really hope Neil's groundhog finds someone else's peas to eat, though, because I want more, and that stupid grondhog didn't pay for a share!

The big surprise was how easily the asparagus went down. I'm really starting to enjoy it, instead of just eating it as fast as I can to get it over with! But it needs REAL BUTTER. My mom keeps insisting it needs to be browned butter, but I'm okay with just a dab melted on top. Moms!

Field Trip

A look at things to come. Kale in the field and some peppers and (I think) squash hardening off outside the greenhouse. Gosh, I feel like such a city slicker!

And some we're already tasted! Spinach growing in the field and potatoes where I never expected to find them: in the greenhouse.

Where Cucumbers Come From

Remember those delicious cucumbers I was going on about last week? I saw them growing in the greenhouse today, so I had a few words with them. "Hello, cucumbers," I said. "You guys sure are crisp and cool and flavorful. Keep on producing; you're doing a great job!" I think I saw them responding. See what you think.

Mmm, look at that baby. I'll probably be eating it next week!