Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Farm Staff Part 2; and Beet Recipe

Moises, our only full time staffer, has been with us for twelve years.  You can't visit the fields during the summer without seeing him cutting flowers, picking vegetables or weeding.


Ruby Swiss Chard

Nina, whom you met on our post  Farm Staff Part 1, has a passion for beets.  She will often wander into the rows of beets after a long day working, gathering up an armful to use in multiple ways.

One of our favorite ways Nina prepares them is the simplest (which is how we like to cook) and is as follows:
  

Remove green leaves (save for leafy salad) and rinse beets till clean.  Place beets on cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast in hot oven (400) till done (about an hour depending on size).  When tender, remove from oven and twist off skin (we like to leave most of it on), cube with a knife and sprinkle with goat/feta cheese (for added protein if you like).  Delicious and simple.  Nina also shared a family recipe for Borscht soup that we will post in the future.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Strawberry Shortcake


This is the time for native strawberries. We have been selling fresh, unsprayed native strawberries from a nearby farm at our stand this week.

Strawberries growing in rows in the field.

At Our Stand
  
While they are delicious raw with the field sun warmth, here is my recipe for strawberry shortcake:

Biscuits:
  • 2 cups flour (substitute ½ cup with whole wheat) 
  • 3 tsp baking powder 
  • 1 tsp salt 
  • ¼ cup butter 
  • ¾ cup whole milk 
Mix together and pat out ½ inch thick biscuits onto ungreased baking sheet
Bake at 450 degree (hot oven) for about 10 minutes or until golden


Then:
Cut up quart(s) of native strawberries and sweeten with sugar to taste
Beat whipping cream until desired thickness and sweeten with maple syrup, if desired, to taste.


Monday, June 4, 2012

Spring Produce


Here is some of the local produce available (in some cases via cold frames or greenhouses), and how we prepare it (simply):
  • Carrots: grated in salads; steamed as side dish; chopped in stews
  • Broccoli:  steamed as side dish; sauteed in broccoli/pasta dish
  • Rhubarb:  stewed and served over ice cream
  • Beets:  steamed whole with skins on (to preserves nutrients) then peeled, sliced, and lightly buttered
  • Strawberries:  eaten raw (and, in this case, mostly eaten before we took this photograph!)
  • Cucumbers:  raw and sliced in salads or just used for grazing
  • Asparagus:  steamed and lightly buttered as side dish
  • Lettuce:   raw in salads
  • Spinach (not shown): steamed and lightly buttered as side dish