Summer Solstice

It's officially summer now.  We've passed the longest day of the year, and there is still plenty of growing to do!  I've got all my onions in the ground (they start to form bulbs as the daylight decreases.)
These here are the scallions, bred to not form bulbs.  Ah, nice orderly bunches.

In the hoophouse we have kicked out the last of the herbs that were in pots, and replaced them with tomatoes, peppers and basil planted in the ground.  Mostly we have orange Sungold cherry tomatoes, a nice red variety called Cosmonaut Volkov, a tangy green heirloom called Green Zebra, and then a few neat varieties where the label I wrote in pencil rubbed off...  So,... a batch of mystery tomatoes!  (I now use sharpies for my labels) It will be fun to see what they grow.  There are still a few spring crops hanging on in the hoophouse, but the tomatoes are slowly taking over.

The chickens like the new pasture, but getting out to them takes a bit more time.  It can be fun driving the wheelbarrow through the woods with the feed and water.

Whatcha Eatin?

Swiss Chard and Lemon

Bunch of Swiss Chard, coarsely chopped. stems too. (beware, the red ones stain like beets)

1-2 cloves garlic (or perhaps garlic scapes if you add them a bit later so they don't overcook)

Olive oil

pinch of red pepper flakes

Lemon wedge or lemon juice (key ingredient!)

Heat oil, garlic, and red pepper in skillet (don't all great recipes start this way).

Add chard and toss to coat.  Cover for a minute or two to lightly steam chard, continue to sautee ~5min until tender.  

Squeeze lemon juice over chard.  Server with rice.

Garlic Scape Pesto

bunch of garlic scapes

1/3 C grated parmesan

1/3 C slivered almonds

~1/2 C olive oil

All of it into a food processor and blend.  Adjust the oil to get the desired consistency.  We like to eat this on Wasa crackers or pasta.

Thyme Lemonade

I was going to try this but forgot to pick up lemons darnit.  I'm curious about this one.  You basically make a simple syrup flavored with thyme, and then use that syrup to sweeten your lemonade.

1 C sugar

1 C water

8 sprigs fresh thyme

Heat in saucepan to a boil, then simmer 8 min.  Strain out thyme and cool.

1 C lemon juice

3-4 C water

(perhaps some gin or vodka...)

garnish with a thyme sprig.  

sunny day on the Eastern Promenade optional, but recommended.

Broodies

The weather finally decided to dry out.  It's been just gorgeous for the past few days.  Warm weather and dry conditions are a welcome change for the fields.

A few of our hens decided to go "broody" this week.  This means they stop laying eggs and occupy a nesting box trying to hatch any eggs in there.  After trying to break them of the broodiness with a few different methods, we gave in to their natural instincts.  So we gave them each a dozen eggs and let them try to hatch.  We'll keep you posted.
Here are the broodies.  A Buff Orpington and a Golden Laced Wyandotte.

Meanwhile, in vegetable land.

Ooh yeah.  snap peas.  Here they come.  It's one of my favorite crops.

The Brussels sprouts needed a little weeding.   (actually done now, just need a new picture)

The mix of wild garden kales

The herbs are filling out nicely.  Just about ready!

And the chickens are rocking out.  

Whatcha Eatin?


Garlicky Sesame-Cured Broccoli Salad (Adapted from the NY Times)  I scaled it down from theirs to match the amount of broccoli I have.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/20/dining/201arex.html

1 bunch Broccoli (the original recipe calls for the heads, but in our case we have mini broccoli, and so we use the whole stalk, leaves, florets and flowers.  Coarsely chop the stems, break off the whole florets)
1 tsp. Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 C Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Sesame oil
Pinch Red Pepper Flakes

In a large bowl, stir together vinegar and salt.  Add broccoli florets, stems and flowers, and toss to combine.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil, add garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant. (~1min) Stir in sesame oil and pepper flakes.
Pour hot mixture over broccoli and toss.
Let sit for ~1hour (we can never wait that long and just end up eating it) but you can keep it marinating up to 48 hours in the fridge.

The hot oil sort of cooks the broccoli very very lightly so it has the feeling of something more advanced than a salad.

A few updates

A few updates:
Our chickens now listen to WMPG! (Maine community radio)   yep, I've got a radio keeping them company now, and hopefully it's scaring off raccoons.


The last week of rain was a little rough on the veggies.  It made the slugs come out for a feast and they munched down some of my beans.  Grr.  I'm trying to get on top of the weeds near the crops to reduce slug habitat.  Lots of rain also washes valuable nitrogen out of the sandy soil.  This makes for slower growth and smaller plants.  I'll be trying to remedy this with fish emulsion!

The first zucchini plants are out in the field, the cukes are soon to follow.

Non sequitur coop move to a more convenient location.  No chickens were in the coop at the time.

Whatcha Eatin?


Siracha Stir Fry


Kale bunch
2-3 Green Onions
2-3 Cloves Garlic
1-2 Eggs
Soy Sauce
Siracha
Quinoa


Whisk eggs, fry in pan, set aside
Pull kale off stem, chop coarsely
Finely chop Onions and garlic.
Heat pan with olive oil.
Add kale, onions and garlic.  Stir and fry until kale is tender.
Drizzle with soy sauce.
Mix with fried egg
serve over quinoa.
Spice with Siracha


On another topic:
Parsley.  Long relegated to the garnish category.  But no more!  It's great in lots of things.  I feel a song coming on...

To the tune of "What shall we do with a drunken sailor"

What shall we do with a bunch of parsley?
What shall we do with a bunch of parsley?
What shall we do with a bunch of parsley?
from our CSA box.


[Chorus]
Yum yum it's not just garnish (x3)
from our CSA box

Mince it finely for egg salad, (x3)

from our CSA box.

[Chorus]

Chop it up into frittata (x3)

from our CSA box

[Chorus]

Mix with veggies for a soup stock (x3)

from our CSA box.

[Chorus]

Puree with spices use like pesto (x3)

from our CSA box.

The end.   Do I spend to much time out in a field?

Rain Go Away!

No more water please!  

It was a soggy weekend and the fields got completely saturated.  Can't do much when all the plants look like this.  And the road in was in pretty bad shape too.

Yeah, the plants don't like that much water, and I don't either.  I can't get into the fields without sinking up to my shins and messing up the soil.  But, there is always work to be done in the hoophouse.

We also moved the chickens to a new fields to avoid the predators which have been picking them off.  This was actually an epic project, for which I had no camera.  But believe me, epic.  To summarize the day:
1 day of steady rain
60 hens + 1 rooster + 1 guinea hen + 1 duck in the back of my truck
3 "portable" chicken coops
2 sections of electric fence
1 deep cycle battery and fence energizer
1 truck stuck in the muddy field
20 saplings cut down this winter to create a ramp to get out of the mud bog
10 trips with the weelbarrow because we could not move stuff with the truck in the field
5 hours later, success!

Despite the funky weather we had a good harvest both inside the hoophouse and in the fields.  Here's what we've been eating.

Whatcha Eatin?
Greens Stir Fry

1 Bunch Kale and/or Turnip Greens - ripped from the stem and coarsely chopped
1 Green Onion - coarsely chopped
1 Dried Chili Pepper or Red Pepper Flakes - finely chopped
2 cloves Garlic
Soy Sauce
Rice

Heat a pan with olive oil on high heat
add chopped chili pepper/red pepper flakes, and garlic and fry for 1-2 min.
add the onion and greens.
cover for 1-2 min to lightly steam the greens
remove lid, stir around.  try that nifty chef technique where you shake the pan towards you and the stuff you're cooking flips up in the air.
(clean up the mess if unsuccessful...)
cook until greens are tender 2-3 min more
drizzle with soy sauce
remove from heat
serve over rice.

Out in the fields the tomatoes are in the ground.

And the potatoes are coming up nicely!