Circle M Farm

These days, I find myself turning more and more to the preserving books on my kitchen bookshelf, first among them “Keeping The Harvest,” by Nancy Chioffi and Gretchen Mead. What is ripe now is ripe in gallons! Tomatoes, cucumbers, summer squash, oh my! Not to mention the neighbors’ generously shared sweet corn.

Emma, who spent a recent long afternoon milling tomatoes into juice, said while harvesting this week, “I’ll never eat another tomato!” Of course, she’ll be dying to have one come next July, like the rest of us. But I do sympathize. Still, I can’t deny that these instant feelings of fullness betray our cultural distance from food-growing and serious dependence on the gas-based global food market. On average, in America, the food we eat travels 1300 miles from farms to our plates. We’re used to having tomatoes all year here and there on top of this and that. But that’s not how food grows, and that’s not so much how I want our family to eat. But our tastes haven’t caught up to our values and certainly not to our bountiful gardens. Yet. We’re thankful to have CSA members to share the harvest from this little homestead. Here’s what’s in the box:

In The Box, Box 6, Local Delivery August 18

Tomatoes – What more can be said? The taste of summer; heirlooms in every color, texture and flavor.

Summer Squash – Most of the summer squash and zucchini vines perished in the flash flooding we experienced last week. However, the few that survived are really producing like mad. Even if you think you don’t like summer squash, we think you’ll find these small fruits, picked when most tender, to be very delicious sauteed in butter or olive oil, seasoned with a little salt and pepper.

Yukon Gold Potatoes – Our potatoes, planted just uphill of the squash, were the most serious casualty of the flood. Most of them rotted in the ground, but a few rows made it. These Yukon Golds are very buttery, very tasty, but we don’t think they’ll keep in storage, so eat them up right away!

Salad Mix – Mmmmm! Salad is back! Yes, and for the rest of the season it should be very happy. We don’t have the color variation we did in the spring, because these plants are growing in dappled shade so they’ll beat the heat. We’re seeding more in the sun for fall.

Nasturtium Leaves and Blossoms – Toss them in salad, or soup, or just eat them peppery and crispy out of the bag.

Arugula – We are really loving this on pizza – placed last, on top of the cheese, it crisps up and tastes extra rich. These leaves are very dirty and dusty, as a result of living under two feet of water for a few days, but swish them a few extra times in cold water and they’ll be delicious in salads or sandwiches or instead of spinach in lasagne.

Mustard – We love these vitamin-packed greens in soups and lasagne, but I recently found this very tasty looking dish on the web. You don’t have a whole pound of greens, so perhaps adjust down by half.

Mustard Green Gratin
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2005

1 pound stemmed mustard greens
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus extra for baking dish
3 whole eggs, beaten
10 ounces ricotta cheese
2 ounces grated Parmesan (approximately 1/2 cup)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for garlic and mushrooms
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 cup crushed round butter crackers

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Remove any large stems from the greens and wash them thoroughly; do so in a sink with at least 5 inches of water. Moving the leaves around in the water and allowing them to sit for a few minutes to allow the sand or dirt to fall to the bottom of the sink. Once clean, roughly chop the greens. You should have 1 pound finished greens once they are stemmed. (Weigh the greens after stemming, but before washing.) After washing the greens, place them in a salad spinner to thoroughly dry them.

Butter a 9 by 11-inch or 2 1/2-quart baking dish and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

In a large, 13 by 11-inch roasting pan set over 2 burners on medium heat, melt the butter in 1 corner of the pan. Add the garlic, mushrooms, and a pinch of salt and cook until the mushrooms give up their liquid, approximately 5 to 6 minutes. Add the greens and cook until they are wilted, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. The greens will reduce to less than 1/4 of their original volume and begin to look like thawed, frozen spinach. Remove the pan from the heat.

Add the greens to the egg and cheese mixture and stir to thoroughly combine. Pour into the prepared baking dish, top with the crackers, place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and serve.

Beets – Just a few this time, the last of the second planting. More in the ground for fall.

Carrots – The last of the first planting, sweeter as the season goes on. I’m sharing all the misshapen ones with the horses, and we all think they taste better than ever.

Goat Cheese – Sonia told us she was using the goat cheese with basil pesto. Yummy on pasta, bread, even slices of summer squash.

Basil – Start freezing pesto. You’ll regret it if you don’t.

Broccoli – Just a bit, but more to come as the weather cools.

String Beans – These were under water for a day or so, and it seems they’ve been given new life to produce tasty thin pods of green, yellow and purple.

Hard Squash – Carnival and Acorn are already ripe on volunteer vines that have come up among the edamame beans.

Fennel – I’ve been asked by several members what is to be done with these odd-shaped bulbs. Well, frankly, I eat most of mine raw, just wiped off out of the ground. But for those patient eaters, here’s a very simple, elegant recipe from elise.com.

Roasted Fennel


2 fennel bulbs (thick base of stalk), stalks cut off, bulbs sliced
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar

1 Preheat oven to 400°F.

2 Rub just enough olive oil over the fennel to coat. Sprinkle on some balsamic vinegar, also to coat. Line baking dish with silpat or aluminum foil. Lay out piece of fennel and roast for 15-20 minutes, until the fennel is cooked through and beginning to caramelize.

Serves 4.

Herbs: Parsley, Dill, Chocolate Mint, Chive Blossoms – You’ve likely got lots of good ideas for these herbs already, but try some tangy chive blossoms in your next omelet, tomato soup or veggie dip. I think you’ll be pleased.

Cucumbers – If you’ve got any interest in doing it, now is the time to put up pickles. This next recipe involves no cooking over a hot stove, so I like it.

REFRIGERATOR PICKLES

4 c. sugar
4 c. cider vinegar
1/2 c. pickling salt
1 1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. mustard seed
3 med. onions, sliced thin
Med. size cucumbers

Mix all together except onion and cucumbers. Do not heat. Stir until completely dissolved. Sterilize jars. Slice one onion in the bottom of each jar. Slice cucumbers to fill the jars. Pour syrup over this. Fill to top of the jar. Screw on the lids and refrigerate for at least five days before using. Store in refrigerator.

Makes 3 large 18 ounce jars. Will keep indefinitely.

Bon Appetit!