Heirloom Harvest

Greens Party

Member Cheryl Gottlieb is getting ready for the spring onslaught. Projecting that there might be some greens in the shares (your Editor has not asked Farmer John yet, but it seems possible), she suggests a recent cooking show that had ideas for how to convert the nutrient-rich leaves to tasty meals:

My first time eating greens was last year from the farm. Alton Brown's show helped me to know what to do with the greens. I thought it may help someone else.

As always, we welcome recipes and pointers from members. Thanks Cheryl!

Roasted Vegetables

Celeriac, carrots, potatoes, turnips if they're good (mine went pithy), and parsnips, peeled, cut in 1-inch dice, and tossed in olive oil, salt, pepper and dried rosemary, then roasted until tender.

I am thankful for the farm's good food.

Turnips

Editor's note: Had good success this week with some new recipes. Just now I made these Glazed Turnips and the fam spoke highly of them. If you have turnips still in the crisper drawer, like I did, I recommend them.

Cucumber and Tomato Salad with Buttermilk Dressing

Via member Peg Monahan: We grow tomatoes, cucumbers, and herbs in our home garden, so I am always on the lookout for recipes that use all three (preferably in copious quantities!). I found this one last year on epicurious.com, and we like it so much, I make it once a week from mid-August to October. It's simple, delicious, and quick to make. (Cooks' note: I use low fat mayonnaise and fat free buttermilk--who needs the fat and calories from the real stuff?--and whatever varieties of tomatoes we have on hand. The buttermilk dressing can be made without chives one day ahead and chilled, covered; whisk in chives before serving. For more variety, stir in other finely chopped herbs such as basil, thyme, or tarragon.)

Cucumber and Tomato Salad with Buttermilk Dressing
2 cups mayonnaise
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh chives
6 medium cucumbers, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
8 beefsteak tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
2 heads iceberg lettuce, cored and cut into 2-inch chunks

Whisk together mayonnaise, buttermilk, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste until smooth, then whisk in chives.
Put cucumbers, tomatoes, and lettuce into bowls and serve with dressing.

Say: Those Tomatoes are Ripe?

Of course, we are looking for recipes, as always. It’s eggplant and tomato peak season, and we welcome suggestions for how best to tame the bounty. The heirloom tomatoes – which with the exception of just one variety this year, are ripe without turning tomato orangey-red – are remarkable in recipes thanks to their appearance. The varieties for this year also have higher sugar and higher acid content. Waiting for them to turn red, which some members have done in the past, is futile – instead, use the feel of their skin under your fingertip or other benchmarks as an indicator of whether you should eat them. Not all tomatoes have always been red, and these are not. This year, the farm is producing Great White, which is whitish and huge; Ananis Noir, a multicolored red/brown/green; we have an abundance of of Black Krim, with a burgundy bottom and green shoulders; and Rose, which is true to its name and reputedly comparable to a brandywine; Striped German, which is yellow and red; Green Zebra, with a tiger stripe; and the reddish one is Red Iraq – you can tell it because it looks ordinary but is binned with the heirlooms.

I continue growing most of the varieties that I do because they get good reviews from members. I look forward to hearing members’ feedback.

To come

On the near horizon are more tomatillos. Also, leeks and onions, will be coming in soon. Carrots have come a little late this year, but we have them now – we also have potatoes back there too, but will probably wait longer before we start to pull to make sure we have those in the fall. Traditional bell peppers are slowing a little, but sweet ethnic peppers are perking up. And lettuce is coming back in. Basil will start to slow down now. The beds we did for bunching have been gone through, so the remaining beds were sown for are “pinchers.” If you’re a pesto person now is the time to act and freeze.

The First Bite Is With The Eye

Your editor recently returned from a cooking course in France, where this post's title was a bit of significant wisdom about the importance of careful and creative presentation in cooking. The first day at the school, while jet lag was still intense and vivid, Chef Robert Ash made a tomato salad that is an excellent way to tear through some of the summer produce. Here's what he did, and what I did yesterday.

Take plenty of ripe tomatoes and cut them into thinnish slices -- say, a quarter inch. Lay them on a plate or tray, and salt them liberally. "Liberally" means to taste, of course, and for some people salt is a natural seasoning -- and for others, steeped in our wise culture of care around healthy food, it's kind of scary to actually USE salt on PURPOSE. Ash emphasized the value of salt used carefully in this case to aid the tomatoes in giving up their liquid and concentrating their flavor.

Over the next few hours, I poured off liquid every 15 minutes or so. Then I cut up some cherry tomatoes, more for color and contrast than any other reason. I took some of the farm's basil and shredded it with my fingers (lots of cooks feel that cutting basil with a knife damages its flavor) and scattered it on the tomatoes. I also happen to have fresh oregano on the back deck, so I put on some of that, and also snipped on some of the chives I have on the back deck as well. Don't get hung up on this; if you have the herbs, great, and if not, it's not the end of the world. The basil is the most important of all of them.

Then, I cut some mozzarella into stars with cookie cutters (my wife Carol's idea) and put the shapes on the salad. Finally I sprinkled on some olive oil and poured balsamic vinegar into a spray bottle, then sprayed a few shots over the salad. Done. Vegans will of course choose to omit the mozzarella.

Veggie Sandwich

Last recipe (this week, we hope) from Amelia Fratianni. Amelia's brought us three solid recipes this week, for which we are VERY grateful indeed. This one, for Grilled Vegetable Panini, is a hat trick, providing destinies for eggplant, zucchini and basil all. Amelia, we'll welcome more any time. And any member is always welcome to follow her example.

Beet it (sorry!)

We remain grateful to member Amelia Fratianni for her search the Web for more and better recipes. Fratianni says "I never liked beets, but this recipe changed my taste buds," and as your Editor was no fan of beets as a child, he's listening. Further, Fratianni says she "used mixed pepper, recommends "more orange" And your editor feels strongly that orange is always undersold in recipes, so he agrees taste untasted. Also, she notes she substituted blue cheese, and also "prepared as suggested and then decided to julienne the beet greens and toss with other ingredients."

Let's Not Call This Whole Thing Off

Your trepid blog editor was hard at work today on a tomato consumption strategy. Luckily, the editor recently returned from France, where he attended a weeklong cooking course (he is not making this up) where he learned on Day One a fine, although not remarkable, tomato salad.

Basically, what you need to do is take a mess of tomatoes (in France, they were called "Heart of Beef") and cut them thinnish. Layer them on a large plate, salt them, and let them sit an hour, then drain it off. Then let them sit another hour, drain it off. And another hour -- then drain it off.

Then, the editor's family required some mozzarella, which the editor is always happy to provide. Finally, a little oregano and hand-shredded basil, some chives and some balsamic vingar and olive old finished it off. Snacky, and that many fewer tomatoes in the world.