Time to make pickles!

No lettuce this week, for the first time of the year I think. We've been keeping up with the zucchini, but the cucumbers are starting to pile up. I will be making pickles shortly. Also good to know that late blight shouldn't be a problem for us:

Everyone is talking about tomato blight, a potentially devastating tomato disease that is getting a lot of press (Sherry even appeared on a segment of NJN news last Tuesday to talk about it). This disease is a fungus, and is spread when its spores hitch a ride on air currents to neighboring farms or gardens. On our farms in Hopewell and Chesterfield Townships we are pleased to report we have absolutely no sign of tomato blight. Since we direct seed our tomato plants and do not purchase transplants, we are more likely to not experience the disease, since reports indicate that transplants purchased at retail centers have helped spread it. In addition, our tomato fields are surrounded by many acres of preserved land in both Chesterfield and Hopewell, and the tomato fields of other growers are relatively far away. There are a few home gardens bordering the Chesterfield farm, but our plants are quite a far distance from them.

David Camacho, our field manager, reports that our tomato plants look amazingly healthy, despite the overabundance of rain and our cool nights. And while those cool nights are inhibiting ripening, he thinks that warmer August days and nights will give us some of our best heirlooms ever! (from the weekly newsletter)

This week:

• Cucumbers
• Garlic
• Onions
• Parsley
• Potatoes
• Tomatoes
• Scallions
• Summer Squash
• Flower Bunch

101 summer salads

This Mark Bittman column looks good for salad inspirations. We sometimes need them.

Tomatoes!

The first tomatoes of the year are always exciting. We are a little worried about the crop this year though, the whole northeast is having trouble, especially organic farms. It's been a wet summer, and late blight is coming early this year (NY Times article).

• Basil
• Red cabbage
• Cucumbers
• Garlic
• Lettuce
• Potatoes
• 3 tomatoes
• Scallions
• Summer Squash

Growing lemongrass

Inspired by the pineapple top we've started in a pot, I decided to try sprouting some lemongrass. I started a stalk in water in April, potting it after it sprouted some roots, and now it has several stalks and seems to be doing well. I'm not sure how soon full stalks will be harvestable, but it looks & smells great. I'm starting a second stalk. They'll live outside with the other herbs until there is a danger of freezing.

Food of substance

I've often wondered what fraction of our nutrition we really get from our weekly vegetable box. Lots of vitamins and minerals, obviously, and some fiber, and it gets us eating less meat in general, which is good. It's surely a long way off enough for us to eat from, though, and the early season vegetables don't have many calories. Most meals are augmented with rice, bread, or pasta at least. Now, for the first time this season, we get some real starch: potatoes. And they look nice.

• Beets
• Cucumbers
• Dandelion
• Garlic
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Onions
• Parsley
• Potatoes
• 3 zucchinis
• 2 yellow squash

Community supported fisheries

As heard on NPR yesterday, many places in New England are getting fish shares that work like our farm share. Sounds nice! I would be happy with a dairy & eggs share.

St. Tropez chicken

There's always room for more ways to roast chicken. I also like the roast chicken legs with cilantro gremolata that was recently in the NY Times Magazine. This St. Tropez chicken is from Nigella Lawson's Feast. I made it with thighs & drumsticks, using white wine with a splash of red for the marinade, since we never really have rosé around. Another UK recipe from an official source ("put the tin on the hob"?), I found an alternate post that had a US version.

Saint-Tropez Chicken

1 large chicken, cut into 10 pieces
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup honey
½ cup rosé wine (though white is fine too)
2 cloves garlic, bruised
1 tablespoon mixed herbs with lavender

Put the chicken pieces in a large plastic freezer bag or shallow dish. Squeeze the lemon juice into a glass measuring cup, and stir in the oil, honey, and wine to dissolve the honey. Pour this mixture into the bag or dish of chicken and chuck in the bruised garlic cloves and the herbs.

Seal the bag or cover the dish with plastic wrap and put in the fridge overnight or for up to two days.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Put the chicken in a roasting pan with its marinade, skin side up, and cover with aluminum foil. Cook for two hours, then remove the foil fro the pan and turn up the oven to 425°F. Cook for another 15-25 minutes or until the skin of the chicken is bronzed. Keep an eye on it, as the honey in the marinade will make it burn quickly.

Remove the chicken to a warmed plate, and pour or spoon off excess fat from the cooking liquid. Put the pan on the stove top, add 1/2 cup water and deglaze the pan juices to make your glossy, golden-brown sauce.

Crunchy Granola

Since I've been making my own yogurt, I thought it might be time to try making granola as well. I think I've tried it once before, a long time ago. This batch was good, though the oats got a bit too dark. The toasted almonds are perfect. The recipe came from Feast by Nigella Lawson. The official UK version (with masses instead of volume measurements) is here.

Andy's Fairfield Granola

4½ cups rolled oats
1 cup/4 oz. sunflower seeds
¾ cup/4 oz. sesame seeds
¾ cup/6 oz. apple sauce
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
⅓ cup brown rice syrup or rice malt syrup, or failing that, golden syrup
¼ cup clover honey or other honey
¾ cup light brown sugar
2 cups/8 oz. whole almonds
1 tsp. sea salt
2 tbsp. sunflower oil
2 cups raisins

Mix everything except the raisins together very well in a large mixing bowl. I use a couple of curved, rigid spatulas; normally, I’d be happy to use my hands, but here it just leaves you covered with everything.

Spread this mixture out on two baking tins (the sort that come with ovens, and are about the width of a rack) and bake in a 300-325°F oven, turning over about halfway through baking and re-distributing the granola evenly during the baking process. The object is to get it evenly golden without toasting too much in any one place. This should take anything from about 40 minutes. I use a gas oven, which doesn’t brown as fast as an electric one, so often leave it in for up to an hour.

Once it’s baked, allow to cool and mix together with the raisins. Store airtight.

Beets, cucumbers, fennel, etc.

Now we have a 2nd bulb of fennel, enough to do something with. I hung up the fronds to dry and use for flavoring smoke while grilling fish. Also, first beets!

• Basil
• Beets
• Cabbage
• Cucumbers
• Fennel
• Garlic
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Onion
• Summer Squash