Hello, August
The tomatillo trickle started last week, and people kept asking "what do you do with tomatillos?" So this week at market, we have green salsa recipes at two scales: a quick batch with a small bag, or enough to can. We also have, um, a flood of tomatillos, so we hope the you are up for it.
This season has been whipping by perhaps faster than any we've experienced before. It's hard to believe that it's August, really. But all the signs are pointing that way. The flocks of starlings are getting larger. The lacewings took care of the aphids in the peppers, and the poblanos are taking off. The printed sheets where we log the harvests each harvest day have gone from one page, to two. We have gotten used to just sweating all day, and the days are definitely long. And sure, we get a little cranky from the heat, bug bites, and never quite finishing the to-do list. But there's a secret pleasure in the full-on summer feeling, too. A whisper of color creeping into the tomatoes and peppers; with every run of sweat down my face, I think "the tomatoes WILL ripen!"
It's never fully guaranteed here, ripe tomatoes before the freeze, and when we finished the high tunnel for our tomatoes a full month later than planned (or was it more?), we definitely worried. But they are starting to turn, and a few cherry tomatoes are coming in (available sporadically at the farmstore, and a few for early arrivals at market this week). The zucchini really seem to have started to recover from their hail a month ago, and are making a good showing at the daily harvest again, though the high tunnel cucumbers continue to lead the charge.
We are starting to learn some of our annual patterns, in our fifth year of farming here; not just those of the plants and the surrounding birds, insects, etc.., but also ourselves and all of you we grow this food for. I predict that this weekend's rain will settle some dust in our farm roads, give us a few cool nights of good sleep, and boost the whole team up out of the common early-August exhaustion. I sense that you, dear eaters, might take advantage of that cooler weather to get the kitchen steamed up, so we'll be bringing our favorite salsa verde canning recipe (and a great one for just eating fresh, if you aren't quite up for canning). We have bulk bags of, um, larger zucchini and summer squash in the farmstore, if you're ready to grate and freeze, or make a big batch of zucchini bread. I'm having my annual panic that I might have lost the Ball Canning and Preserving cookbook that i won in the county fair at age 12 for my apple butter. I'll find it again I'm sure, I always do. And then I'll share with you the the best recipe for pickled beets.
But till then, there's plenty to keep you busy, whether you want to start putting up for winter, or just want to eat well all week. I (Mary) will be at market while Noah works on some of the final touches (really, it's almost done!) of the intern cabin. Eggs will be just at the farmstore, but loads of veggies will be at both the market and the farmstore, all week long. Hope to see you at one or both!
With gratitude,
Mary and Noah, SweetRoot
We share a lot of recipes, but so many of our best meals are simple improvisation with a cast iron skillet, a good tasty oil, a few herbs and seasonings, and the confidence to know how long to cook, and in what order. Two nights this week, Erin and Taylor wrapped up their tasks a little before Noah and I, and whipped up some extremely delicious big veggie bowls. Their directions, including the secret ingredient: heat the butter, bacon fat, or oil in the pan. Have all your veggies chopped to the size you like. Start with the most durable: beets, carrots and potatoes of all varieties. Cook them up a few minutes, then add the onions and garlic. When they get a little soft, add your summer squashes, and kale, chard, etc.. Cook till soft, then season to taste. Salt and pepper are good; we have an open jar of farm-dried thyme near the stove that goes in pretty much everything. Basil is nice. Or curry powder. The secret to this weeks root-based scrambles: a dash of maple syrup, to taste, near the end of cooking. It's subtle, but somehow does bring it all together. Give it a try, do some experiments, and let us know your favorite combinations.
Farm members Travis and Shelly visit with the crew as we end a long Monday harvest day with onion cleaning and bunching.
The romaine is still sweet and crips despite the heat, and the heads are huge!
Farm-scale sandwiches, even Hershey is impressed.
Would it be a newsletter without a photo of Zukes? He's taken to napping under the peppers and eggplant, but emerges to greet anyone harvesting. Also, there are eggplant coming to market! And we love our new harvest buckets from Hoss tools; you'll likely see all of us emerging from various parts of the farm wearing these over our shoulders in the coming months, and harvests get bigger and heavier every day.