Kretschmann Farm Oct. 7, 2008
don@kretschmannfarm.com www.kretschmannfarm.com
Greetings from the
Kretschmanns,
Just leave it to Mother Nature to do the
unexpected. We had been watching the
weather forecasts all last week saying a cooling trend toward the end of the
week and dipping into the upper 30’s on Saturday, followed by moderating
temperatures. We were hustling all week
to get the rosemary greenhouse back in place and covered, which had blown away
in the recent windstorm. We finished
this on Friday. Since it was warmer than
expected and rained overnight, it appeared that we had dodged the frost
bullet. Saturday we went merrily about
picking broccoli and cauliflower all day long and finished the day putting
together a new cooler for apples. It was
a queasy feeling after the fireworks on Saturday to see the sky crystal clear,
calm, and cold. Then the “gottcha”
moment Sunday morning—Jack Frost had sneaked onto the hilltop! Luckily, it was
only a mild little nip and even the basil survived. Monday—more of the same—picking tender crops
in anticipation.
As you can see from your box this week, the
cole crops have accomplished a coup d’etat and taken over the box—both broccoli
and cauliflower. (We could have done
cabbage and kale as well, but let’s not be ridiculous.) If either is overwhelming your capacity to
consume, then just cut into pieces, blanche in boiling water, cool, drain, and
freeze the overage. You’ll have a handy
side dish ready for the future. If green
beans are piling up, one could do the same with them.
The stems of broccoli can be peeled and
eaten raw like celery sticks. Cauliflower
stalks are great in soups stews, etc. Also, one could certainly use any of the green
leaves of cauliflower or broccoli in the same way one would prepare collards or
kale.
We’ve
picked the last of the green beans on Monday morning. They have been beautiful these last few
weeks. The tomatoes are coming to an end
soon as well. They are remarkably good
tasting for October. Enjoy them, as we
won’t have that taste in a tomato for at least 8 months.
There’s quite a gang of root crops to dig in
the next few weeks and lots of beets as well.
So get ready for the roots. And
how about those baby mesclun greens?
Lots more of those too.
Enjoying
the glorious fall days,
---- Don, Becky, & The Crew
Veggie
ID: If you have a multicolored squash which is
shaped like an acorn, it’s a Carnival sweet dumpling winter squash. It’s a lot like acorn squash, but
richer. An orange squash is a small
version of orange hubbard. It’s like a
rich butternut or buttercup squash. It
will also make a great pumpkin pie.
Broccoli Soup: Reserving
½ c. tiny florets, cut up 1 med. head broccoli into pieces and boil in 2 c.
water until tender. Meanwhile, in
saucepan, heat 2 tbs butter and stir in
2 tbs flour. Remove from heat momentarily until broccoli is tender. Shred ½ c. cheddar. Blend cooked broccoli until smooth. Add 2 c. milk to butter/flour saucepan, then
add the broccoli, reserved florets, and cheese. Simmer, stirring, until thick.
Salt to taste.
Fajitas: Cut up your choice of meat into thin strips (one can
use shrimp as well) Combine 1 tbs lemon
juice, 2 tbs chile powder (chile de
arbole, chipotle, pasilla are some choices) 4 diced cloves garlic, and 4 tbs
olive. Toss meat with mix and allow to
marinate refrigerated 4 hrs. Cut up mix
of veggies into strips or bite sized pieces.
Cauliflower, carrots, peppers, onions, broccoli…. In large skillet or wok, cook meat in
marinade until tender, then drain marinade and brown meat in 1 tbs butter. Set meat aside and sauté veggies in 2 tbs
oil 5 min. then add meat and toss with a
little drained marinade. Serve with
refried beans, guacamole, or sour cream with tortillas. Tortillas are easy to heat up by placing on a
cookie sheet for 30 seconds under a broiler flipping to the other side and
doing the same. Stack and cover in a
clean towel.
Cauliflower
and Broccoli Souflettes (or Souffle): Steam small pieces of broccoli and cauliflower
until just tender. Melt 4 tbs. butter;
remove from heat and gradually add 1/2 c. whole wheat flour, then add 2 c. milk
gradually stirring to keep smooth.
Return to heat and stir until sauce thickens and boils. Allow to cool a little and add 1 egg yolk and
1/2 c. grated cheddar and nutmeg to taste.
Fold this sauce into 1 stiffly whipped egg white. Place vegetables into
6 oiled souflette dishes or souffle dish and pour sauce over the top. Bake @375, 35-45 min. or until puffed and
golden. Serve immediately. (You can use any souffle recipe and any combo
of veggies for that matter.)
Special Orders:
½ bu. beets or potatoes--$25 Cabbage
for sauerkraut-- $25 50# box. Hot peppers—jalepeno or Hungarian wax--$20/half
bu. (It’s easy to make a batch of Italian pickled
hot peppers.)
Chickens: 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.