June Mud

June is in full swing. The weeds are growing and we have more to harvest every day.  We have the last of the summer plantings to get in the ground and we have started seeding our fall crops in the greenhouse. It always seems so ridiculous to start thinking about the fall when summer has hardly begun. But it’s also comforting to know that however crazy this time of year is, however long the to-do list, there will be a time when the weeds stop growing and all the harvest is in. It’s such a beautiful thing to live in a place with seasons.

Last week’s rain halted our progress quite a bit. We can’t do much of anything in the fields after 2 inches of rain but our summer crops are on their own these days; all we can do is watch and hope for happy growing.

We have a wonderful green harvest for you this week.

Snow peas

Sugar snap peas

Salad mix

Mixed Asian greens

Arugula

Radishes

Hakurei turnips

Kohlrabi

Kale

Collard greens

Swiss chard

Green garlic

Head lettuce

Escarole

Baby carrots

Beets

Kat harvesting kohlrabi in the rain

Planting the second round of summer squash and cukes!

Amanda harvesting peas in the rain.

Too muddy for boots! But someone's gotta thin those beans...

Recipes!

Strawberry, Raspberry Escarole Salad

http://b-metro.com/red-raspberry-strawberry-and-escarole-salad-with-tipsy-farmer-cheese/15361/

Salad

Escarole, cut into 1-inch strips

parmesan cheese, cut into

thin slices

wild garlic, sliced

sliced strawberries

red raspberries

walnuts, chopped into small pieces

heirloom tomatoes, cut into small slices

Dressing

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Toss ingredients together. Drizzle dressing on the salad, and enjoy.

Snow Peas with Toasted Almonds

Bon Appétit  | April 2009

by Maria Helm Sinskey

Makes 4 servings

Crunchy toasted almonds make crisp snow peas even more fun to eat.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 pound snow peas, trimmed
• 2 teaspoons minced shallot
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation

Melt butter in medium skillet over medium heat. Add almonds and cook until golden and fragrant and butter begins to brown, stirring frequently, about 11/2 minutes. Add snow peas and shallot; sauté until snow peas are crisp-tender, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Remove skillet from heat; add lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and serve.

Greek Swiss Chard Pie

By Martha Rose Shulman

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/projects/healthy-recipes/recipes/greek-swiss-chard-pie

Ingredients

• 2 to 2 1/2 pounds Swiss chard, stemmed and washed thoroughly
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• ¼ cup chopped fresh herbs, preferably a combination of dill and parsley, or 1 teaspoon each dried thyme and oregano
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• Freshly ground pepper
• 12 sheets phyllo pastry plus 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil or 2 tablespoons each melted butter and extra-virgin olive oil, combined, for brushing

Preparation

• 1 Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil while you stem and wash the greens. Wash them in 2 changes of water, lifting them from the water so that the dirt stays behind. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, add the chard and blanch for 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon or a skimmer, transfer to the ice water. Let sit just until cool, a few minutes, then drain and squeeze out excess water by taking up bunches of the greens, making a fist around them and squeezing. Chop coarsely and set aside.

• 2 Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Oil or butter a 10-inch tart or cake pan (I like to use a ceramic dish for this). Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the onions. Cook, stirring often, until tender but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for another 30 seconds to a minute, until the garlic is fragrant. Stir in the greens, herbs, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and stir the mixture for a minute, until the greens are coated with oil. Remove from the heat.

• 3 Beat the eggs in a large bowl or the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. If you are not using phyllo dough for this, remove 2 tablespoons of the beaten eggs, for brushing the crust, and crumble or blend in the feta. Toss with the greens, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

• 4 Line the pie dish with two-thirds of the dough, or with 7 pieces of phyllo, lightly brushing each piece with butter or oil and turning the dish after each addition so that the edges of the phyllo drape evenly over the pan. Fill with the greens mixture. If using phyllo, fold the draped edges in over the filling, lightly brushing the folded in sheets of phyllo ,then layer the remaining 5 pieces on top, brushing each piece with butter or olive oil. Stuff the edges into the sides of the pan. For pie dough, roll out the other piece of the dough and place over the filling. Crimp the bottom and top edges together, then pinch an attractive fluted edge all the way around the rim of the pie. Brush the top with the beaten egg you set aside, and make a few slashes in the top crust so that steam can escape as the pie bakes.

• 5 Bake 40 to 50 minutes in the preheated oven, until the crust is golden. Serve hot, warm, or room temperature.