Week Five

Hello-
Another rainy start to the week, but the weather reports are sounding more positive for the weekend. Today wasn't too bad- we were able to get everything harvested without getting soaked. There are a variety of tasty veggies in your bags this week :
Spinach
Salad greens
Scallions
1 beautiful bulb of Lucky Moon garlic :>)
Sweet young carrots
Snow peas
Raspberries
Possibly arugula, depending on the weather


I love this time of year because it seems that every week something new is ready to eat from the garden. I'm sure by the end of the summer my appetite for zucchini or spinach or peas will be satisfied, but right now, that first sweet carrot just pulled out of the ground and rinsed off tastes better than any candy! Snacking on a few of the first snap peas that I've had since last summer- you'd think I'd never tasted them before. But that's one of the pleasures of eating things in their own season; their long absence makes them even more enjoyable. Your palette has time to forget how things taste, so eating them again when they're at their very best (fresh from the garden) is really special.


In our modern, on-demand world, the concept of delaying pleasure, especially when it comes to food, is practically forgotten. We have access to all kinds of food and produce at all times in the supermarket, so many people don't know that vegetables even have a specific season. Although it is incredibly convenient if you want to have bell peppers and blueberries in February, it means that we end up eating a lot of mediocre-tasting produce. And no wonder, if those peppers and blueberries have to come all the way from Chile or California or Holland (yes, I saw eggplant the other day in the store that came from Holland- that just doesn't make sense. Can't we grow eggplant on this side of the Atlantic?) So I'm not trying to tell you to eat things only in season- that's up to you, of course. But enjoy these "first fruits" from the farm and see if you can't taste the difference.

Enjoy your summer!
Sarah

If you still have some Rhubarb in your fridge from last week, here's a recipe Kathy sent me:

Rhubarb Bread I

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2/3 cup vegetable oil (or applesauce)

1 egg

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 to 2 cups chopped rhubarb

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans. In a small bowl, stir together milk, lemon juice and vanilla; let stand for 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, oil and egg. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda, stir into sugar mixture alternately with the milk mixture just until combined. Fold in rhubarb and nuts. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans.
3. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup brown sugar, cinnamon and butter. Sprinkle this mixture over the unbaked loaves. (I people doubled the topping)
4. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a loaf comes out clean.

-Kathy

Week Four (rain, go away)

Hi everyone,
Just a quick post:
Here's a recipe to use some of the rhubarb you're getting this week. Any others out there? Email me at luckmoonfm@gmail.com

Rhubarb Squares- (Kelli made these for Sue and I and they're verrrry tasty :>)
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional)
1 tsp. melted butter or margarine
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 c. shortening
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 c. sour cream
1 1/2 c. rhubarb, cut into small pieces (1/2")
2 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda

1) Mix white sugar, nuts, butter and cinnamon until crumbly.
2) Cream together brown sugar, shortening and the egg.
3) Add sifted flour and soda alternately w/ sour cream. Add rhubarb.
4) Turn batter into a greased and floured 9x13" pan. Sprinkle with sugar/nut mixture.
5) Bake at 350 degrees fro 45- 50 minutes.

And a few quick pics:

Week Three

Hi everyone,
So, we're wrapping up a very wet Week Three. Hopefully this stretch of weather will let up soon- we really don't want this to become a repeat of last summer... I'm going to try and remember to bring the camera to the farm tomorrow or the next day and post some pictures of the farm here on the blog. It's lovely this time of year when everything's sending out tons of new growth.

In your bags this week, you received a bag of spinach, a bag of mixed salad greens, radishes and Swiss chard. Kelli Johnson has been giving me some great recipes that I can't wait to try. Here's one that uses the chard and spinach that looks like it would make a tasty dish:

Baked Swiss Chard an Spinach w/ Chickpeas and Feta Cheese
4-6 servings

4 Tbsp olive oil
10 oz Swiss Chard, heavy stems removed
1 Lb Spinach, heavy stems removed
One 15-oz can of chickpeas, drained
4 scallions (white and green) chopped
4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped dill
salt and pepper to taste
3 oz feta cheese, crumbled

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees, spread 1 Tbsp oil around a 12x9x2- inch casserole dish
2) In a steamer pot, steam Swiss chard until it wilts, about 4 mins. Add the spinach to the steamed chard and steam another 4 minutes until the spinach wilts, too. Remove both greens and drain, squeezing out excess water once they are cool enough to handle.
3) Chop greens and toss with remaining 3 Tbsp of oil, chickpeas, scallions, garlic, dill and season w/ salt and pepper.
4) Transfer to the casserole dish Push the feta cheese down into the mixture and bake until it's sizzling, about 35 mins. Serve hot.

Hope you all are doing well and are enjoying these first weeks of summer.
All the best!
Sarah

Week 2!

Hello everyone-
Just wanted to give you a heads up about what vegetables we're planning on harvesting this week.
Spinach
Mixed Greens
Basil
Asian Greens
Radishes

Also wanted to let you all know that strawberry season is just kicking off, and a favorite place of mine to go picking around here is Tre-G Farms, just off Route 20. They've opened earlier than usual, so get out there while the picking is good!
Here's the info they list:

Tre-G Farms
8183 US Route 20, Manlius, NY 13104.
Phone: 315-682 9315.
Directions: Route 20, 1/2 mile west of Pompey Center,
between the crossroads of Pompey Center Road and Watervale Rd.

Also, I wanted to share this link with you if you like to pick fruit in the summer (this has been one of my favorite things to do ever since I was a kid). Take a look at http://www.pickyourown.org/nycentral.htm and it will tell you by county where you can pick all sorts of things. It's a handy website.

Oh, and here are some more recipes that people have sent me:

Spinach Salad w/ Strawberries and Pecans
8-oz Spinach
1 c. strawberry halves
1 c. pecan halves (or walnuts, or almonds)

Dressing:
1/2 c. cider vinegar
1/3 c. oil
1/4 c. sugar
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 small onion
2 tsp poppy seeds

In a large bowl, combine spinach, strawberries and pecans.
Dressing: mix cider vinegar, oil, sugar, dijon mustard, salt pepper and onion in a food processor until smooth. Add poppy seeds and mix.


Sauteed Spinach w/ Roasted Garlic, Sun-dried Tomatoes and Feta
~10 oz spinach
3 T. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 c. onions, chopped
1/2 c. sun-dried (or roasted) tomatoes
1/4 c. sherry (optional)
1/4 c. lemon juice
5 T. butter
1/2 c. feta
salt & pepper to taste

Over medium heat, saute garlic and onions in olive oil until golden brown ( ~ 2 min). Add tomates, add sherry and lemon juice and reduce by a third ( ~3 min) Add butter and toss until it melts. Add spinach. Cover and stir occasionally until the spinach is slightly wilted and warm (~ 3 min). Add feta and cook briefly until slightly melted. Add salt and pepper to taste.
NOTE: this is a great to toss with your favorite pasta!


I'd love to hear some more recipe ideas, if you think of any.
Email me at luckymoonfm@gmail.com
Thanks!
Sarah