Journal Post for the week of July 26, 2010

SO WHAT’S HAPPENING ON THE FARM THIS WEEK?

This week we had some wild weather, a wonderful visit from "Auntie Shelly" who spent loads of time with Sadie, and a great wool opportunity. On Wednesday when severe weather moved through, we received almost three inches of rain in under an hour- all when we should have been setting up for market in South Hero! The weather did calm down enough for a short but fruitful market day. We needed the rain, and we are glad that we continue to have weather that helps keep late blight from getting established in the region the way it did last year.

The seed of the mentioned wool opportunity was planted back in May when Christine put our name in for having 50 lbs of raw wool from our sheep spun into yarn at Green Mountain Spinnery in Putney, VT. David Ritchie, one of the original founders, called to say that we were next in line and that our sheep's wool is beautiful. It turned out that he has family in the area he was visiting over the weekend, and he still had no ride back to So. VT because he was driving a car to his daughter in Burlington. So, he came to visit our sheep and chat about all things wool, and today, Christine, Sadie, Sophie, and Eric are all on a trip to deliver David and our raw wool to get processed into yarn skeins (they won't process David into yarn, I should say). While at Green Mountain Spinnery, they will all get a chance to experience wool processing first hand! Everyone has been excited to make the connection with the spinnery and has pitched in to "skirt" the wool (make it free of debris and unusable yarn) so its ready for processing. This means that soon we'll have our wool for sale to all you knitters (a good gift for knitters you know ).

Other news...the Auracauna pullets have started to lay little green and blue eggs (so cute), and our new hen house is getting started in preparation for 175 (yikes!) new pullets arriving in 2 weeks. Thanks to Joe and Emily, we have been able to reclaim a bunch of great usable materials from the very first henhouse we had that has been down and out for three or four years. They have been doing a great job dismantling the old house.

We have finally reached the "lull" in lettuce that we have promised, and its likely our chard and kale will still need time for regeneration- especially the chard which was battered by the wind and rain on Wednesday. We DO finally have a growing supply of delicious tomatoes, Nicola yellow potatoes (heavenly and buttery-thanks a bunch to Fiona, Benjamin, Gail, Jackie, Gabriel, and Natalie for helping us harvest 140 lbs in short order!!), tender green beans, and slicing cukes! Enjoy. Please take as much basil as you need for your pesto reserves-its a bumper crop this year.


WHAT’S IN THE SHARE THIS WEEK: SLICING CUKES, PICKLING CUKES, ZUCHINI, YELLOW SQUASH, HOT PEPPERS, GREEN PEPPERS, TOMATOES, TOMATILLOS, NICOLA YELLOW POTATOES, GREEN BEANS, CABBAGE, GARLIC, CILANTRO, LOTS 'O' BASIL,

Our blog is at: www.blueheronfarmvt.com - check us out and/or leave a comment

EGGS FOR SALE
We have the pretty girls’ eggs for sale – these are free-range, certified organic chicken eggs that are brown, green and blue – with the brightest yellow/orange yolks you ever seen. The eggs are $5.00 a dozen.

RECIPES


CURRIED POTATOES AND PEAS (ALOO MATAR RASEDAA

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 lb Small potatoes -- halved
1/4 ts Salt
1 1/2 ts Tumeric
1 1/2 ts Cumin powder
2 pinch Chili powder
1 t Cumin seed
2 tb Olive oil
1 3/4 c Chopped tomatoes
1 c Frozen peas -- thawed

Parboil potatoes for 5 minutes in lightly salted
water. Drain and set potatoes aside.

In a large skillet, saute tumeric, cumin powder, chili
powder and cumin seed in olive oil.

Add potatoes to skillet and stir to coat with spices.

Add tomatoes and simmer until potatoes are tender,
about 20 minutes.

Stir in peas, cover and cook for 5 minutes.

Per serving: 253 cal, 7 g protein, 165 sod, 42 g carb,
8 g fat, 0 mg chol, 33 mg calcium
Source: Vegetarian Gourmet, Autumn 1993

CHAR FLAVOURED POTATOES AND GREEN BEANS
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 md Tomatoes, chopped
5 md Potatoes, cubed
2 1/2 c Green beans, cut into 1 1/2
- inch pieces
1 tb Basil
2 ea Whole dried red chilies
4 ea Sprigs fresh coriander
1/2 ts Turmeric
1/8 ts Asafetida
1 t Salt
1 d Black pepper
6 tb Ghee
2 2/3 c Water

Place all the ingredients into a large heavy bottomed pot in the order in
which they are listed. Bring to a boil over a moderate heat, reduce heat &
boil for 5 minutes.

Reduce the heat further & gently boil, partially covered, for 20 to 25
minutes. Check that the water is not evaporating too quickly. You may
have to add more water.

To finish cooking, raise the heat to fairly high & fry quickly, without
stirring, to allow the crust to form & just begin to char. Remove from the
heat & let stand, covered for 5 minutes. Stir in the crust & serve,
remembering to remove the red chilies, you may not want to bite into them.
- Yamuna Devi, “The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking”

Green Beans in Olive Oil
Recipe By : The Complete Book of Turkish Cooking/Bobb1744
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Side Dishes Turkish
Green Beans Onions
Tomatoes Vegetables
Ethnic

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 pound Green beans
1 medium Onion -- chopped
2 each Chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon Salt
1/3 cup Extra virgin olive oil
3 1/2 teaspoons Sugar
1 cup water

Trim beans & cut into 3 pieces, wash & drain.

Put onion & tomato into a heavy pan. Sprinkle with salt & rub in lightly
with fingers. Stir in the beans, olive oil & sugar, mix well. Cover & cook
for 15 minutes over medium heat. Stir occasionally. The beans will lose
their colour & soften. When all the moisture has been absorbed, stir-fry the
beans for 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water, cover & simmer for 40 to 50
minutes, till the beans are tender. Add more water if necessary, 1/2 cup at
a time. When cooked, the dish should be very moist but not watery.
Serve cold as part of a buffet.
-Ayla Esen Algar, “The Complete Book of Turkish Cooking”
Balkan Cucumber Salad
• ½ cup very thinly sliced red onion
• 4 medium cucumbers (6-7 inches long)
• 1 tsp. salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1½ cups yogurt
• 1 or 2 small cloves garlic, minced
• 1 to 2 tsp. honey (optional)
• 2 tbs. freshly minced mint leaves
• ¼ cup (packed) finely minced parsley
• 2 scallions, finely minced (greens included)
• 1 to 2 tbs. freshly minced dill
• 1 cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted
1. Soak the onion in cold water for about 30 minutes while you get everything else ready. Drain thoroughly and pat dry before adding to the salad.
2. If the cucumbers are large, de-seed them. Cut them into thin rounds and place in a medium-sized bowl.
3. Add remaining ingredients except walnuts, and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.
4. Sprinkle the walnuts on top just before serving.
Serves 6.
From The Moosewood Cookbook, by Mollie Katzen