Name: Allebach Stop: BF
Rolling Balance: $349
Kretschmann Farm
Sept. 9, 2008
don@kretschmannfarm.com www.kretschmannfarm.com
Greetings from the Kretschmanns,
It has been an extraordinary year in terms
of when the different crops have been maturing.
We know no year is really “normal”, but this year the variation from our
experience has been astounding. A few
examples… Normally snap beans arrive in early to mid-July at the same time as
the first potatoes. For nearly two
months now we’ve been waiting for that season of plentiful green beans. The first plantings were frustratingly scant
due to wet conditions in May. Weeds
quickly take over when the germination is spotty. They are finally here, with two different
fields maturing nearly simultaneously.
We can hardly move in our cooler with all the beans. As the saying goes, “When it rains, it
pours.” The sweet corn we get from our
neighbor, Tom Brenckle, started last year July 31.—this year not until after
Labor Day. Watermelons are usually
starting in early August—this year, not until late August. Basil is a tough crop early in the summer
because of insects, and later it is picture perfect. This year the bugs have
yet to subside. Normally, the early
potatoes are moisture stressed and bring a light crop, while the later ones
have lots of moisture and yield phenomenally. This year was the complete
reverse—the later ones have just about died off from drought and are ready to
dig a month early.
Tomatoes continue as the trump suit! There’s so many ways to enjoy this
fruit. The reds, yellows, and pinks,
make such visually appealing eats. Last Sunday, in addition to the Huevos Rancheros below, we place a small pile of parsley
tips to the side and put a little bunch of halved tiny red and yellow plum
tomatoes with a wedge of feta cheese atop.
Beautiful.
Healthy. Delicious.
We’ll be launching into the hard winter
squashes soon—acorn, buttercup, carnival, buttenut. Next week, we’ll start back with carrots
again. Hope you had finished the last
bags.
The much awaited rainfall last night and
today should start the broccoli, and cauliflower toward maturity. We’ve got fall spinach turnips, radishes, and
mesclun seeded and it’s begun sprouting.
First fresh cider of the
season. Enjoy.
Enjoy the first cider of the season. It’s
UV treated which retains the same cider flavor because it doesn’t heat the
juice. It’s like some water treatment systems. Technically not pasteurization,
but it’s the same intent—to kill off the baddies. Wishing you “bon appétit”, we are
---- Don, Becky, & The Kretschmann Crew
Five
Family Farms Tour and Picnic: As
part of Local Foods Week, we will
host a pig roast, picnic, and farm tour
on Sunday, Sept. 21, along with four
other neighboring farms. You can see
all the particulars by clicking the link to the webpage. The four of the five farms immediately adjoin
and complement ours. RSVP if you plan to
attend so we can plan, by sending a message with subject line “Farm Tour
RSVP-xxx persons”, listing the numbers of people. Also, the grand finale of the week is a dinner
featuring local foods at the
Special cheese note:
We ran out of cheeses toward the end of the week. We’ll try to get it in for next week to fill
the orders we had. Don’t panic this
week, but next week we’ll post what you should have gotten in the newsletter, and
if you haven’t received it by next week, please let us know so we don’t charge
you for it. Also, we have extra camembert
if anyone would like a .5# wheel next week.
First come, first served, @ $10/wheel.
It has been exquisite.
Huevos Rancheros: Dice
a few potatoes (2), cut up a sweet red pepper, a small
zucchini, and a small onion into bite sized pieces. In a flat bottomed or cast
iron 8-10” frying pan, saute the potatoes in olive
oil about 5 min., then add the other veggies and continue to sauté until they
just begin to soften. Scramble about 4
eggs with a little water and pour over the sauted
veggies. Turn heat to low, cover tightly and cook until the eggs are just about
set. Add a few slices of cheese on the
top and broil just until the cheese is bubbly and eggs are golden. Serve with a
little of your favorite salsa and a few warm tortillas.
Italian Green Bean Salad: Cook or steam 1# green beans
until tender. If beans are large, cut
French style into lengthwise strips.
Drain and pour your favorite vinegrette
dressing over the warm beans and toss.
Refrigerate at least two hours and serve with tomato wedges and sliced
onion. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and
garnish with olives.
Portugese Kale Soup: Soak overnight 1/4 c. chickpeas and simmer
until tender. (or
use 1 can precooked ) Cut up 1/2 #
potatoes into 3/4 " cubes and simmer 1/2 hr in 2 qt. chicken stock with
1/4 tsp pepper, a dash ground cloves, a
dash ground alspice, 1 clove minced garlic. While this is cooking, fry 1/4 # hot sausage
and cut into 1/3" pieces. (loose sausage can be
fried as bitty meatballs) Break or cut
kale into bite size pieces (4-5 cups or as desired). You can break it into pieces, leaving the
larger ribs. These then can be cut up
and cooked a little longer. After the
1/2 hour of simmering the potatoes, add the kale, chick peas, and sausage and
simmer for 1 more hour. Add 2 c.(dry) precooked tubular pasta just before serving. Garnish to taste liberally with romano or parmesan cheese.
Special Orders:
Basil—$11/half bu. Hot peppers—jalepenos or Hungarian
hot wax--$20/half bushel. ½ bu. tomatoes--$20 Cabbage
(good for kraut)—20#--$15.
Chickens: This week
there are chickens for the Thursday and Friday folks who pick up at the
farm. If you get chickens, for your
convenience, we’ve posted the schedule
of deliveries for all days, and the grower addresses on our website with
the 2008 newsletters.