Circle M Farm

This is that intriguing time of year when we’re able to eat both summer and fall at the same time. One balmy day cucumber salad still seems appropriate, while the next we’re happy to have collards to cook up into a cozy stew to warm up the house. Tonight I’m canning green beans, and I’m happy to have such a task ahead of me on a cool evening, but yesterday afternoon was awfully sweltery when I was cooking down tomato sauce from morning to midnight. The really fun part is that right now we have it all! Bon appetit!

Potatoes -These Green Mountain potatoes will shock you -they have taste! And a lot of it. But they don’t have much body, so use them for baking and mashing, as the texture will disappoint you in a salad.

Tomatoes – The strangely striped Speckled Roma tomatoes have been the standout variety in the gardens this season. Pretty, firm and ultra tasty. These may be our last, but they are a great finale. The cherry and plums just keep on coming, though.

String Beans – Yum. Hard to believe, but I’m not sick of these yet at all. I hope you are still enjoying them, too. The pole beans finally exhausted themselves, but we’re just starting to pick the late rows of bush varieties.

Radish – Lots of pretty colors!

Edamame – Our family’s favorite summertime treat – fresh soybeans. This snack is borrowed from Japanese bar cuisine, where these pods are served instead of peanuts. Pull the pods from the plants when you are ready to use them. Heat a large saucepan of water to the boil, and add two tablespoons of salt and the pods. Boil hard 10 minutes, then drain. Squeeze the little beans out of the pod and enjoy!

Scallions

Cucumbers – These little white Lemon Cucumbers are amazingly prolific, in heat or cold. It’s a good thing, too, because they are the favorite of our members. We eat them like apples when we’re working in the gardens.

Green and Red Peppers – We are finally seeing some of our peppers get red, which is deepening the flavors. Enjoy these green bells, skinny Genovese Costalucas, chubby Sheepnose Pimentos and twisted Lipsticks.

Beets – As these get bigger and sweeter with the cool nights, we like to roast them. Heat the oven to 375°F. Rinse beets and trim off any leafy tops. Wrap beets in aluminum foil and place in the oven. Roast until tender and easily pierced with a knife, about 1 hour. When beets are cool enough to handle, peel using a paring knife or by pushing the skin with your fingers. Slice beets, drizzle with olive oil and reduced balsamic vinegar, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Celery – This is Golden celery, tasty and crisp.

Carrots – These summer carrots are not as sweet as they will be in the colder months, but try roasting them with the beets, and you’ll find the flavor of both is sweetened. Dress with reduced balsamic vinegar and a bit of olive oil.

Nasturtium Leaves and Flowers – Nasturtiums are native American flowers, originating in the jungles of Peru and Mexico, where the Incas used them as salad and medicine. Early explorers shipped them back to Europe along with the potato and tomato, where they were quickly absorbed into the cuisine. Thomas Jefferson planted them in his vegetable gardens at Monticello from 1774, where he characterize them in his journals as a fruit, and spoke about eating the seeds pickled. A quick Google search reveals people doing a lot of cool things with them today, too! We’ve included a Potato Nasturtium recipe below.

Serranos – Hot and getting hotter.

Mixed Greens: Baby Kale and Collards – There are many ways to use cool-weather greens, most of which involve cooking for a very long time. These are so young and tender, however, we recommend just ribboning the leaves and tossing them into your favorite soup on the next cool evening. These do just as well in a cream-based soup as in a clear broth. Experiment and know that you are getting the absolute most nutrition per mouthful.

Pineapple Sage, Garlic Chive Blossoms – Pick off the chive flowers and seeds and toss them into anything you’d season with garlic or chives. They make a great edible flourish on top of an omelette. We’ve included a cookie recipe to use with the pineapple sage.

Nasturtium and Potato Soup

2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 large sweet onion, finely chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
25-30 nasturtium leaves, stems removed
4 cup chicken broth (or water)
1 1/4 cups milk
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
nasturtium blossoms for garnish

Melt the butter in a stock pot. Add the onion and cook until soft but not browned, stirring occasionally. Add the potatoes and nasturtium leaves and continue cooking until the leaves are wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth and milk to the stock pot. Add the bay leaf, salt and pepper, then bring to a boil. Cover and simmer gently until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf and discard. Puree the soup in a blender until smooth. Serve garnished with fresh nasturtium blossoms. Makes 6 servings

Pineapple Sage Sugar Drops
This basic sugar cookie is actually a nice base for any interesting herb you happen to snip from the garden. We’ve made these with rosemary, and I think they’d be nice with anise hyssop, too.
1 c sugar
1 c butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon extract (you can do without this, too)
1 egg
1 tsp. lemon peel, minced
1 Tablespoon pineapple sage, minced
2 1/3 c flour
1/2 tsp baking soda

Heat oven to 375. In large bowl, beat sugar and butter on low until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla, lemon and egg. Add minced peel and herbs. Mix flour and baking soda together, then add slowly to butter mixture. Drop by tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten with bottom of glass dipped in sugar. Bake 9 to 11 minutes. Remove immediately to cooling rack.

Cucumber Water
So simple, yet so very elegant. I learned this from a reflexologist I went to in Chicago, who made me drink a full glass of cucumber water after each session before she let me leave. “You need it to flush the toxins out of your body,” she told me, and I’m a believer after trying it. Simply cut 10 or so cucumber slices into a pitcher of water you keep in the fridge. The water will be lightly flavored and very refreshing. This makes a really pretty centerpiece for a dinner table, too.