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The crew worked through the rain from hurricane Sally last Thursday and kept their good attitude.
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News from the farm...
We had a scare yesterday with some patchy frost but everything, even the basil, made it through. We were also lucky in that last Thursday was a day of steady rain and we only got around an inch and a half, not the 4 plus inches other folks are reporting. The weather is changing quickly now and we feel like we need to be prepared. Hoops and row covers are out in the fields ready to cover crops for frost protection and we are paying even more attention to the forecasts for over night lows and cloud cover. A good cloud cover will keep things warm, while a still clear night with a full moon is pretty much for sure a killing frost.
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PLEASE NOTE: Pick times at Cecilia's Kitchen are now from 9am until 11am.
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Below: Field clean up continues. Here, Nadya and Julianna are picking up irrigation drip lines that we never even hooked up because it just kept raining! Notice hoops and bags in background ready to cover the basil.
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What's Available This Week
Our late planted Asian cucumbers are coming in strong. It seems like they only last a couple of weeks but it feels worth the work to plant, trellis weed and water them to have cucumbers in late September. We have plenty of head lettuce and lettuce mix. Lots of winter squash in a lot of different varieties. Pinto gold and yellow potatoes. Yellow and sweet onions. Green, red and black kale. Mixed colored sweet peppers as well as jalapenos and poblanos. Cilantro is back and the basil continues to produce. Red beets with tops. Heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and red slicing tomatoes. Japanese and Italian eggplant. Mixed flowers bouquets and straight bunches of zinnias and dahlias. Sourwood honey.
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The fall garden is looking good!
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John's Recipe of the Week
John Loyd is our dear friend, neighbor, CSA worker member and a gourmet Southern cook. His delightful cooking observations and delicious recipes offerings appear here each week.
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“Chocolate comes from cocoa, which is a tree. That makes it a plant. Chocolate is salad.”
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Storing your peppers – If they are uncut, don’t wash. Put them in vegetable bags, if you’ve got them, or loose in the vegetable drawer of the fridge. Do not put them in with any fruit as gasses from fruit quickly spoil the peppers. If they are chopped, wrap the peppers in a paper towel and put in the vegetable drawer. Uncut will last up to two weeks. The cut pepper will only last 3 or so days. You’ll know it’s over the top when it gets soft.
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POTATO CAKES – from “Frank Stitt’s Southern Table.” The Highland Grill, in Birmingham Alabama, is one of our country’s best places to eat. He has won the James Beard award of best chief in the Southeast. This recipe is nice in the fact that there is no frying. Makes 4 or 6 cakes.
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A pound and a half of potatoes, red or yellow or pinto, peeled and shredded
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1 heaping tablespoon of chopped parsley
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2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
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2 tablespoons unsalted butter
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Preheat your oven to 400F and butter a baking sheet.
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Place the potatoes in a bowl of cold water to rinse off the starch. Drain potatoes and squeeze them dry with your hands.
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Wipe out the bowl and return the potatoes, then add all the remaining ingredients and toss to combine.
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Divide the mixture into portions and shape into ½ inch-thick cakes on the baking sheet.
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Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.
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You can see that you can add to this recipe with what you like. Cooked bacon would be nice. Maybe scallions, or whatever.
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When boiling potatoes, we have begun to use broth instead of water. The best so far, has been to use drippings from baked chicken, which is added to regular broth.
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Love the flowers. Honor the vegetables. Let the weeds go!
Your farmers, Vanessa and Alex
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