Kretschmann Farm
June 12, 2007
don@kretschmannfarm.com www.kretschmannfarm.com --note
our new e-mail address—
Greetings from the Kretschmanns,
A
thunderstorm last Friday evening finally gave our crops a good drink—the most
they’ve had in over a month. But by
Sunday it was dry enough to resume irrigating. We now have drip tapes in most
of the fields we have planted except the broccoli and cauliflower. Our experience has been that these are almost
impossible to bring on to a head with the small amount of water in a drip
line. The one possibility is to use the
overhead sprinklers, but this uses a lot of water and it still might not bring
on the crop. At this point we have been watering nearly every day and the pond
level has dropped nearly four feet.
Should we save the water for peppers and tomatoes later, or use it now? The maxim is to go ahead and use it if it’s a
guaranteed harvest. Farming is always
such a gamble. Odds
anyone?
It’s been a
wonderful year for local strawberries.
The bane of this crop is warm and rainy humid weather because wet
berries quickly become moldy or are plagued by slugs. A good shower followed by
dry cool days is just about as good as it gets for a strawberry. Enjoy the
bounty.
Since running
the water line to the spinach, it has continued to produce wonderfully. We’ve got at least another good week and
perhaps much more if it rains because it will regrow
where it has been picked once. Looking
ahead: the cooking greens—kale and Swiss chard—should be in the lineup by next
week. Beets
are coming (carrots look beautiful too) , zucchini
is forming, and the bunching onions are almost here as well. The novelty of pea
greens should have faded into English pea pods, but drought makes them
uncertain.
Hoping you are enjoying the fresh eatings, we
are, sincerely,
Don, Becky, & The Kretschmann Crew
P.S. Boxes …Please bring your crate back
when you pick up (if your are at a stop where you can
take it home). We will always have a box for you, but when you forget, we are
bothered to make a “temporary” one and this can lead to a missed box. (You might see the inscription “Remember to
return your empty box.) …. and tagging: The tag with your name on the crate is
permanently affixed for the season. The
letters to either side of your name indicate the stop, usually it corresponds
in some way to the neighborhood, host, street…
## means
you get a paper newsletter. The items
between minus signs are dislikes, and ++are likes. C, B, D are placeholders for number of #’s of
coffee, bean coffee, decaf. So 1C B 2D means you’ll
get 1 regular coffee, and 2 Decafs per month. No number in front of the letter
means none of that type of coffee.
Spinach
Mini-cups- Saute 1/2 c. minced onion (can be green onions too) in 2 tbs olive oil until onion softens. Add about 10 oz. chopped spinach and sauté
until wilted. Reduce heat to low, cover tightly, and cook another 2 min. (add a
few tbs. water if needed) Stir in 1/4
tsp salt, 4 oz. well crumbled feta cheese, 2 tbs
flour and 2 scrambled eggs. Fill mini filo cups (frozen foods section) with mixture and bake @350
about 20 min or until firm.
Or you
can go all the way with the “real McCoy”..
Spanakopita- Greek spinach pie: If using frozen filo
dough defrost two hours ahead until it is at room temperature. (leave wrapped) In 1 tbs. olive oil sauté 1/2 c. minced
onion, 5 cloves minced garlic until onion softens and add 1# chopped spinach
and sauté until spinach wilts. Stir in 1 tbs flour
and 1/4 tsp salt and cook 2 more min.
Add 1# crumbled feta cheese (or 1# cottage cheese+1/2 tsp salt or blend
the two cheeses), 1 tsp oregano and black pepper to taste. Mix in 2-6 beaten eggs. Unwrap and straighten filo
dough, then cover so it doesn't dry out. Brush cake pan with olive oil then lay first several sheets of filo
letting excess lap over edges. Brush with oil, then add another layer, brush,
etc. until 1/2 filo is used. Spread all the spinach mixture evenly over
the filo, including the corners. Cover with remaining filo,
oiling every few sheets as before. Roll and tuck the filo
around the inside edges of the pan. Bake @ 350deg. 45 min.
This dip is ever so much lighter than those heavy sour
cream party dips…
Spinach Dip: 1# spinach, 1tbls. Olive oil, 1/2c finely chopped
onion or garlic scapes; 1 ½ c plain yogurt or sour cream,
2tbls.lemon
juice. Cook spinach
over medium heat until wilted, squeeze out extra liquid, chop coarsely. Heat oil over med heat.
Add onion, cook till translucent. Whisk yogurt, lemon. Stir in spinach, onion,
salt, pepper. May be refrigerated for 6 hours.
To any home made salad dressing, one can add crumbled dried herbs like
thyme, rosemary, oregano
Vinegrettes: combine and shake well-1/2 c.
olive oil, 2-3 Tbs. red wine vinegar, 1/4 tsp salt, 1
med. clove garlic minced. For variety,
add finely minced herbs or fruit juices or fruit vinegars.
Our
House French Dressing: 1/3 c. oil, 1/4 c. vinegar, 2 Tbs. honey, salt.
Lime-Honey
Dressing: ¼ c. lime juice, 2 Tbs.
honey, salt (1/3 c. oil if desired).
Veggie
ID: If there’s a small bag of heavy oval leafed
greens on thick stems, it’s purslane.
Culprit: Is this the guy
poking holes in our driplines? Caught him out our kitchen
window.
