Kretschmann Farm July 25, 2006
don@kretschmannfarm.com www.kretschmannfarm.com
Greetings from the Kretschmanns,
What a great
relief for all of us to have the rain last Friday and Saturday and then cooler
weather. We’ll still suffer a few consequences of the heat for a
while in that many of the lettuces bolted in the field. We picked a lot of it late last week to
refrigerate and thus be able to have some for this week. That’s always a mixed blessing because it’s
never as good as fresh, but what else can one do?
The heat was
good for some things, especially the peppers and basil. We managed to cultivate and pull the weeds
out of the peppers last week. There are
few sights so satisfying as weeds lying with roots exposed dying in the hot sun. Irrigating a few evenings and then the good
rainfall has them looking great. The
crop appears to be really abundant for all types. Basil is just about our favorite herb in it’s
fresh state. It can be dried, but loses
a lot of its flavor. Our theory is that
pesto was invented to preserve basil’s outstanding flavor before the days of
refrigeration. The salt from the cheese,
garlic, and the olive oil preserve most fresh things.
About now,
Becky starts the “tomato prowl”—looking for the first ripe tomatoes. We’re starting to find a few. They will be here in limitless bounty before
we know it. Zucchini continues…
The late
season broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage field is looking great. Often in the summer it’s hard for the plants
to get ahead of the flea beetles. These
tiny bugs just nibble the edges of the leaves of the small cole
crop plants as fast as they can grow. In
midsummer it’s often dry and the plants aren’t growing very fast. With a little moisture, though, they quickly
outgrow the damage.
Hoping you are enjoying your summer, we are,
sincerely,
Don, Becky, & The Kretschmann Crew
Several recipes from Simply in Season, a new cookbook
by farmer Mary Beth Lind....
Zucchini Pie: Crust is bread dough made with milk, parmesan, and
an egg. Use your own recipe or combine ¼
c. warm milk, 1/4c. warm water, 1 tbs. oil, 1 egg, 1 tsp. salt. Add tsp. dry yeast or fresh. Mix in 2 ¼ c.
flour (wholewheat breadflour
is my favorite) and ¼ c. grated Parmesan cheese. Knead and roll dough in oil
and set aside. Saute 8 c. zucchini, clove minced
garlic, and 1 c. onion in 4 tbs. butter. Remove and stir in several tbs.
chopped basil, tsp. each of thyme, rosemary, sage, and parsley, tsp salt, 5
beaten eggs, and 4 c. grated mozzarella cheese. Divide bread dough in half and
roll out to fit in two 10” oiled pie pans.
Brush with 4 tsp. mustard. Fill
pies with zucchini mix, top with parmesan cheese and bake @ 375 deg. until eggs
are firm, about 20 min.
Very simple….
Vegetable Quesadillas: Saute 1 clove minced
garlic, ½ c. minced onion (green if fine), 1 thinly sliced zucchini, 1 chopped
pepper, 2 thinly sliced or julienned carrots, and any
other vegetables or mushrooms on hand.
Cover and simmer until just tender.
Grate 1 ½ c. cheese. Layer
tortillas with veggies and cheese on a cookie sheet. One tortilla, then large scoop of veggies,
some cheese, then another tortilla, more veggies, cheese and a final tortilla
with cheese on the top. Bake @ 400 deg.
10 min until cheese is well melted and stacks are hot.
Beets, Tops and All: Remove tops
and boil roots as usual, slipping off the skins. Saute chopped tops
in 2 tbs. butter until just tender, then add sliced roots. Stir in 1 tbs lemon
juice, 1 tbs minced ginger, and 1 tbs
honey and salt to taste.
New Potatoes Baked on a Cookie Sheet: Make sure all potatoes are
about the same size—usually about the size of the smaller ones. Cut larger ones in half. Drizzle about 2 tbs. oil on a quart of
potatoes. Salt. Sprinkle with your choice of paprika, thyme
and rosemary, onion soup powder, cayenne pepper, or all of the above. Toss until coated well and place on oiled
cookie sheet. Bake @ 350 deg. About 20
min. until tender.
Pesto: 2 c. fresh basil leaves, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp
pepper, 1-2 tsp finely chopped garlic, 2-4 T pine nuts (or walnuts), 1/2 c.
olive oil, 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese.
Combine in blender or food processor until texture is slightly grainy. Mix well with your favorite pasta. Pesto can
be frozen in ice cube trays then removed to a plastic bag for storage, or
spread on a slightly oiled pie pan and cut into cubes when frozen. Frozen pesto makes for a gourmet quick-meal
year round. It’s hard to have too much
frozen pesto stashed away.
Check out our website under
the newsletters for lots more recipes by vegetable or to find one from a past
newsletter.
Special Order: Blueberries: 12 pint flat--$39 (one of our most popular items—easy to freeze
and a pint is great to sneak into a movie theatre to munch—good for you to
boot!)