Solstice Time of Year

We celebrated the summer solstice on Sunday. The longest day of the year has come and gone and now we make our slow journey back to the shortest and coldest days. As summer is in full swing on the farm and the weeds begin to take hold and the thunderstorms get stronger, we don't actually mind thinking about getting back to the lazy days of winter. We begin to seed and plant our fall crops this week with an eye to the next season of eating. The solstice is a mental turning point on the farm when we begin to let the spring crops (that we've so meticulously cared for) go to the weeds while we race to keep up with maintenance on our the summer plants and prepare ground for our fall crops. This is when the farm has its own momentum and we start our days earlier and end them later and hold on for the ride.

Photos:

Peppers are on their way!

Dusk scene from the tractor

Time for fresh carrots!

Tomatoes looking good on a hot day

The share:

salad mix

head lettuce

arugula

asian greens

hakurei turnips

radishes

kohlrabi

beets

carrots

summer squash!

broccoli

escarole

fennel

radicchio

swiss chard

kale

collards

snow peas

snap peas

pearl onions

parsley

cilantro

basil

napa cabbage

cabbage

Farmer Meg's Collard Green Spring Rolls

1 bunch collard greens

1 bunch purple top white globe turnips, greens removed and roots minced

1 onion, minced

1-2 bunches kale, minced

Any other vegetable, minced

Cooking oil

1. Coat skillet or frying pan with cooking oil. Heat on medium and add minced onions, turnips and any other crisp vegetables that require extra cooking. Saute for several minutes before adding kale or other vegetables. Continue sauteing until veggies are soft.

2. Heat water in a pan for steaming collard greens. Meanwhile, remove the lower part of the collard stem, leaving the leaf fully in tact. Place collard leaves in the steam bath until tender (approximately 1 minute). Remove and set aside. 3. Once all of the leaves have been steamed, stuff them with the veggie saute filling and roll them up like a burrito. Rolls can be eaten alone or served with a pineapple sweet and sour sauce (similar to the one below). 

Sweet & Sour Sauce

1/4 cup pineapple juice

1/4 cup distilled white vinegar

3 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons ketchup

1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 teaspoons hot water

1. Combine pineapple juice, brown sugar and ketchup in a small pan. Bring to simmer over medium heat. Add warm cornstarch slurry and cook, sitrring until sauce is thickened. Let cool before serving.

 

Pappardelle with Snap Peas and Spring Onions

June 23, 2014/in Recipes /by Danielle Einhorn

Pappardelle with Snap Peas and Spring Onions

INGREDIENTS

  • Kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 bunch spring onions or scallions, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1/2 pound sugar snap peas, roughly chopped
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
  • 1 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 bunch fresh chives, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 pound dry pappardelle pasta
  • 3/4 cup crumbled ricotta salata or grated pecorino cheese

DIRECTIONS

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallions, snap peas, jalapeno and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, until soft, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl and toss with the parsley and chives; reserve the skillet.

Meanwhile, cook the pappardelle in the boiling water until al dente, about 6 minutes. Reserve 2/3 cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta and toss with the vegetables.

Pour the reserved cooking water into the skillet and add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Bring to a boil, whisking until the butter melts, then cook until reduced slightly, about 2 minutes. Pour the sauce over the pasta, sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese and toss. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese.

Broccoli Slaw
Adapted a little bit from family, a little bit from Apartment Therapy

If you have a raw onion aversion, you might enjoy using these pickled red onions instead, then chopped small. You can also pickle shallots with the same method.

Makes about six cups of slaw

2 heads of broccoli
1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds, toasted
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

Buttermilk Dressing (Adapted from this salad.)
1/2 cup buttermilk, well-shaken
1/3 cup mayonnaise (this is more than is in the original, to thicken the dressing further)
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallot (or, you could just use a little extra red onion to simplify it)

Trim broccoli and cut it into large chunks. From here, you can either feed it through your food processor’s slicing blade, use a mandoline to cut it into thin slices, or simply had chop it into smaller pieces. I used the stem and the flowerets, but if you have a broccoli stem aversion you can just use the tops. (P.S. My favorite way to prep the stems is to peel them — the tough skin is why most people think they don’t like broccoli stems; the broccoli underneath is juicy and crisp — then use the mandoline or a knife to cut them into thin slices.)

Toss the sliced broccoli with the almonds, cranberries and red onion in a large bowl. Meanwhile, whisk the dressing ingredients in a smaller one, with a good pinch of salt and black pepper. Pour the dressing over the broccoli (if you’ve skipped the stems, you might not want it all; I otherwise found this to be the perfect amount) and toss it well. Season well with salt and pepper to taste.

 

Malaika SpencerComment