Kretschmann Farm Sept. 2, 2008
don@kretschmannfarm.com www.kretschmannfarm.com
Greetings from the Kretschmanns,
We thought by now that we’d start seeing a
consistent pattern of rain so we could stop this constant worrying about it,
but no such luck. We’re again drawing
from the pond and hoping the next hurricane will pump a little water our
way. But the up side of the equation is
that with less daylight, there’s less evaporation and less needed by the
plants.
Last week was the week of our local Big Knob
Fair, and we had some winners pretty close to home, because two of the boys of
one of our helpers, Darla Frederick, won the Grand Champion hog, and the Grand
Champion steer. Fair season always seems
to mark the
We are about to start into apple and cider
season. These early apples are smaller
because it’s been extremely dry, and there are quite a few Primas,
which are a little rougher in appearance.
One reason is because for some reason they are the absolute favorite
apple for mid-season apple pests. Not
sure why. It’s always uncertain how much
juice we’ll have so we’ll rotate around the weeks so everyone gets some. The first cider is always a little tart
because the early apples aren’t as sweet as the later ones. All our cider is UV treated, which is similar
to pasteurization, but without the heat.
So it tastes just like raw apple juice.
Those
horn shaped red peppers aren’t hot! These
are a very sweet variety named Italia.
Red peppers are not different varieties but just fully ripe green ones. We grow Italias
because they turn red sooner than the regular bell peppers. Red peppers are everyone’s favorite and
deserving of any premium paid for them because many go bad in the time it takes
for them to fully ripen and because they are sooo…sweet. Thus we are a little lenient with the quality
on reds. As we wash them we always have
a box for “defectives” (which are mostly usable) which go home with our helpers. Even today, after packing up, I retrieved a
few Italias out of the garbage bin with one bad spot and
came up with a big bowl of slices for stir fries tonight.
A look
forward: Tomatoes will be in the mix
for quite a while and the peppers are beginning to turn red. We’ll be without
lettuce for a while because of the dry and hot weather, but we have lots more
planted for the fall. On the other hand
we’ve got wonderful kale coming on fast and the chard field is poised for regrowth too. Leeks
also look wonderful.
Looking forward to the fall season, we are
----
Don, Becky, & The Kretschmann Crew
Tomato & Other IDs: We’ve been mixing up the tomato varieties, but up to
now there have been only a very few of the less familiar types. Many veteran subscribers already will
recognize several of the varieties—Green Zebras, San Marazanos
(red plum), Italian Gold (yellow plum), and the Arkansas Travelers (pink). Some new ones we have this year-- Amish
Paste, Cherokee Purple (large & a little soft), and an unnamed tiny yellow one.
Note on Coffee and Cheese: We won’t have
the Sept. coffee until next week. We couldn’t get it together with Labor Day
being Monday. Next week is the monthly
cheese order.
We’re repeating these from last week, since if
you are like us, you’ve likely not had a chance to
make them all.
Pappa al Pomodoro: Heat ½ c. olive oil in skillet and sauté 2 cloves
chopped garlic. Then add 2# chopped very
ripe tomatoes cooking until tender. Then
add 10 chopped basil leaves, 4 chicken bullion cubes and cook 2-3 min. until
bullion is dissolved. Let stand 1 hr,
then add 1# stale bread cubes, salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot or cold drizzled with olive
oil.
Roasting tomatoes evaporates some of the liquid and, like roasting any
vegetable,
concentrates the flavors. We always roast the tomatoes when we
can sauce because it’s easier and doesn’t risk burning when you boil them.
Roasted Tomato Pizza: Brush a cookie sheet with oil. Lay tomatoes sliced 3/8-1/2" thick on
the cookie sheet. Brush with olive oil
and dust with garlic powder and bake about 1/2 hr at 350 deg. until they start
to dry out a little. When the pizza
crusts are ready, carefully move the tomato slices with a pancake flipper and
arrange to nearly cover the pizza.
Sprinkle a small amount of grated mozzarella on top and then top with vegetables
sauted slightly in olive oil with garlic (suggestions: peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, and onions).
Roasted
Pepper & Tomato Pasta with Shrimp: Make one cookie sheet of roasted tomatoes
(about 5) and roasted peppers (about 2). Boil and peel 1/2# shrimp. Dice and saute
about 5 cloves of garlic and 1/2 c green onions sliced in rings. Add the shrimp to the garlic & onions,
then add about 12 oz bowtie pasta cooked & drained, the peppers, tomatoes
and 1/2 c chopped fresh basil.
Special
Orders: Basil—$11/half bu. We’ll
start to sort out tomatoes for canning.
If you leave your name, we’ll get them out to you as we have them. ½ bu. tomatoes--$20