Week 9: August 16, 2011

August 16^th, 2011

Satina Potatoes, Rainbow Carrots, Yellow Beans, Green Cabbage, Broccoli, Zucchini or Patty Pans, Cucumbers & Basil

Satina Potatoes: firmer than other early season potatoes, with gold skin and flesh.  We tried this variety last year and loved it.  High yielding and tasty, they are ideal for boiling, frying, and baking.

**The large shares and a few small got Norland potatoes, white flesh with red skin, you will get to try the Satina’s later.  

            This week the green cabbages are ready, so get out your favourite coleslaw recipe or try out the one in the newsletter.  It is my Dad’s favourite, and we always have it with pulled pork.  We picked yellow beans yesterday and Friday, so there are enough for everyone this week.  The basil is looking healthier after some compost tea and Genny’s careful pinching; so hopefully it will still be going strong when the tomatoes kick into gear.   We have picked enough cherry tomatoes for the large shares this week, and yesterday we ate our first ripe tomatoes from the green house.  Soon we will have lots of tomatoes to go around.   

            We have three new kittens, all orange and white, and cute as only kittens can be.  “Wendell” (Adam’s pick of names) and “Zoltan” (Brother Tim’s choice!) are seven weeks old, bouncy, little fur balls.  We have put their food and water in the bottom of the barn where we have the C SA area, so we can lock them up at night and keep them safe.  (Something has eaten all the rest of our cats this spring, so we are concerned about these little duffers.)  Amber is three months old and was given to us by people down the road, and she is also orange and white, but has slightly longer hair.  While we are in the barn working the kittens keep us endlessly entertained by their antics as they bop around chasing chicken feathers, attacking bits of hay and each other.  Adam has tied a chicken feather to a string so it dangles at floor level, and the kittens think it is great.  I do not know why kittens are so playful and entertaining, but they sure suck you in with their adorable antics.  Friday when I was milking the cow, Zoltan ran up and tried to swat Sparkle’s tail, it looks like a feather on a string with legs: luckily he missed and ran away before Sparkle saw him and started tap dancing.    

Crunchy Three Cabbage Slaw

½ a small green cabbage

½ a small red cabbage

½ a Napa cabbage

2 carrots, shredded

1 red onion (use your green onions instead)

1 yellow bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

1 tsp Mexican chipotle chilli powder or 2 chipotles in adobo*

½ c cider vinegar

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp dry mustard

2 tsp sugar

1/3 c vegetable oil

Shred the cabbage and carrots, cut the peppers into thin ribbons, and thinly slice the onion; toss together in a large bowl.  

Whisk together the vinegar, mustards, sugar, and chipotles in a medium sized bowl.  Slowly whisk in the oil until it emulsifies.  Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss to coat.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Let sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes; preferably for several hours in the fridge, before serving.  Serves 6 – 8.

*The chipotle chilli powder or chipotles in adobo is what sets this recipe apart.  The original recipe calls for 2 jalapenos, but we skip them and use the chipotle instead.  Chipotles have a smoky flavour that compliments their heat. 

Don’t forget, Sunday August 21^st is

Ranfurly Farm Day

10 am – 1 pm

            Summer is in full swing and the garden looks wonderful.  You are invited to come to the farm and see where your veggies are grown.  Visit the farm, tour the garden, and meet the animals.  Everyone is welcome so bring friends and family and tell your neighbours  We will be offering guided tours of the farm and garden at 10:30 and 11:30, and followed by a light summer lunch featuring seasonal items from the garden.  There will also be Ranfurly Farm pasture raised pork, lamb and chicken for sale.    

DIRECTIONS to Ranfurly Farm, 797 Bailey Road:  Turn south off Highway 1 onto the Squilax Anglemont Road.  Turn left onto the Squilax Turtle Valley road (it is the only road between Highway 1 and the bridge).  Travel 4.8 km up into Turtle Valley and turn left onto Bailey Road; you should see a sign for the Turtle Valley Donkey Refuge pointing down Bailey Road.  Go 2.5 km and you will see the Ranfurly Farm sign on the right.    

Week 8: August 9, 2011

Cauliflower, Cucumber, Sugar Snap Peas, Purple Cabbage, Green Onions, Kohlrabi Salad Turnips, Zucchini or Patty Pans, & Lemon Basil

Large shares: Yellow Beans & Basil

            This year Adam is keeping the laying hen flock and the turkeys in the meadow below our trailer.  The hens run around loose from dawn till dusk, eating grass and insects, dust bathing on the hillside; living the best life a chicken can.  The young birds we hatched in May have recently discovered that underneath our trailer is the best spa around.  They hang out in the shade, scratch beds in the gravel and snack on the flowers in my planter box.   Adam locks the ladies in the chicken wagon at night, so they are safe and happy. The turkeys also roam free, but they refuse to go inside their shelter at night.  Instead they all perch on top of it, and Adam has given up trying to get them to sleep inside.

             As I was sitting in our trailer contemplating newsletter content, I heard a very strange squawk, followed by some frantic chicken clucking.  Adam had taken the dogs for a bike ride, so I went outside to peer over the hill and see what the commotion was about.  I was ready to go back inside when I saw a coyote trotting away from the hen wagon towards the trees at the edge of the meadow.  I shouted loud expletives, and went running through the field to encourage him on his way.  After a careful search, I decided the coyote went away hungry; but over the next half an hour every chicken noise I heard had was a potential death throe.  I was out investigating at least five times before I got fed up and decided to lock the girls up early.  (Chickens have very short memories when danger is afoot).  I had just gotten seated back at my computer when I heard loud snapping and crashing in the bush on the edge of the chicken pasture.  The crashing was loud enough I could hear it 150 meters away as I sat inside the trailer.  No coyote makes that much noise, so outside I go again yelling for Sherman, our dog that actually barks at bears.  By the time Sherman arrived the bear was long gone, but I think he has been hanging around.  Both of the dogs have been barking a lot at night, and this morning I heard the same loud crashing while Sherman stood at the fence with his tail curled over his back barking his face off.  It might be time to curtail the chicken`s freedom before they become snacks.  

Ranfurly Farm Day

August 21, 2011    10 am - 1 pm

            Come visit the farm, tour the garden, and see the animals.  Everyone is welcome so bring friends or family and tell your neighbours.  This is a great opportunity to come out and see where your veggies are coming from and enjoy scenic Turtle Valley.  We will be offering guided tours, a light summer lunch, and will have pork, lamb and chicken for sale on site.  

  

Zucchini in Padella – Fried Zucchini

3 medium firm zucchini (patty pans work too)

Extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves of garlic

½ a fresh red chilli or 1 small dried one

A handful of fresh marjoram or oregano, leaves picked and chopped (I used lemon basil last night and it was excellent)

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

3 good quality anchovy fillets, in olive oil

Zest and juice of half a lemon

Optional, 1 sprig of fresh mint, leaves picked and chopped

Remove the ends from the zucchini and slice them into ½ inch pieces. Feel free to halve them if your zucchini are on the large side.  Put a couple of glugs of olive oil into a pan on medium heat.  Add the sliced garlic and your chilli.  After 30 seconds, add your zucchini and herbs and season lightly with salt and pepper.  Make sure the pan is not too hot – you do not want the zucchini to cook to fast.  Give everything a good mix around, then put lid on so it`s slightly ajar and will hold in some steam.  Give the pan a little shake or stir every couple of minutes for the next 10 to 12 minutes.  For the last 2 minutes of cooking, add the anchovy fillets and lemon zest.  Once the anchovies have melted season carefully to taste, adding a squeeze of lemon juice to balance the chilli.  Serve right away – lovely sprinkled with fresh mint. 

           

This is a great side dish to go with white meats or fish, as part of an antipasti selection, smeared on crostini, or smashed up and tossed with a little cream, parmesan, and penne pasta.  Also really good in omelettes or frittatas.

            From Jamie`s Italy by Jamie Oliver. 

Week 7: August 2, 2011

Rainbow Carrots, Potatoes, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Peas, Snow Peas, Beets,  Leaf Lettuce, & Green Garlic

           

            August is here, and I feel like summer has just begun and is half over at the same time.  Everything is so late in the garden that I cannot believe July is finished.   The peas should be done, but I am still picking.  We should be overrun with zucchini and cucumbers, but they have barely started producing.  What is going on?

            Last week Genny, Adam and I pulled up all the garlic we planted last September, and hung it in the bottom of our barn to cure.  Garlic needs to hang in a dry, shady spot for several weeks to dry so that it will keep over the winter. The curing process alters the flavour slightly as well.  The “Green Garlic” you are getting today has not been cured, and is harder to peel than cured garlic.  We are calling this variety Mystery, as I cannot find my notes on what variety we planted in the end section of the last bed.  

            While we were down in the barn hanging garlic, Sparkle, my Jersey milk cow was standing lazily in the doorway at the back of the barn with her calves, watching us.  Four of our heritage Ridley Bronze turkeys were scratching and chirping away just inside the barn door and Sparkle was completely fascinated by them.  She was staring at the turkeys intently when all of a sudden she decided they were not to be trusted and she came rushing into the barn swinging her head and crow hopping about.  The turkeys were totally panic stricken and trapped because the cow was blocking their escape.  After a lot of squawking and flapping, Sparkle moved to one side and the turkeys made a run for it.  Although momentarily worried for the turkeys’ safety, we actually found it an entertaining spectacle!        

Rainbow Carrots:  yes they are all carrots, even the yellow and white ones.  Which is your favourite? 

 Cauliflower:  a little purple from the poor weather and lack of nitrogen, but still tasty.  Watch out for the stumps, they seem to be tougher than perfect snow white store cauliflower.  

            A few simple salad recipes fit nicely with the lovely heat wave we are having.  I would use a mix of broccoli and cauliflower in either of these salads.  Throw in a few leftover peas, or whatever ingredients strike your fancy.     

Cauliflower Parsley Salad

1 head of cauliflower

1 Tbsp white vinegar

Dressing

1 slice white bread with the crusts removed

2 cups loosely packed parsley leaves*

2 anchovy filets

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

½ cup olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the cauliflower into chunky florets.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add the cauliflower and vinegar (which will keep the cauliflower white) and cook uncovered for 15 minutes until tender.  Do not overcook.  Drain the cauliflower and cool completely. 

In a food processor combine the dressing ingredients and process until smooth.  The dressing should be fairly runny, so add more oil or vinegar if needed.  Mix half the dressing with the cooled cauliflower a few hours before serving and pass the remaining dressing at the table. 

*I am hoping several of you have your own parsley plants at home that you can use for this salad, because the few plants we have are not going to provide much this year.  

Citrus Broccoli Rice Salad

3 cups broccoli florets

½ cup snow peas

1-2 cups cooked brown or wild rice, I make extra for dinner the night before 

½ cup chopped red onion

¼ cup sunflower seeds or nuts of your choice

Dressing ¼ cup orange juice

¼ cup lemon juice

1 tsp orange zest

1 tsp lemon zest

1/3 cup olive oil

Wash the broccoli and cut into florets.  Wash the snow peas and remove the stem end and strings.  Bring a pot of water to a boil and drop in the broccoli, cook for 3 minutes and add the snow peas.  Cook until the peas and broccoli are brilliant green and tender, less than five minutes total.  Drain and immerse in cold water to chill.  Drain well before mixing with the dressing and rice.

Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.  Toss with the rice, broccoli, snow peas and remaining ingredients.