Kretschmann Farm June 2, 2009
don@kretschmannfarm.com www.kretschmannfarm.com
Greetings from the Kretschmanns,
The 2009
season is officially off and running.
We’re on the roller coaster and the ride will only end at
Thanksgiving. Where will the season have
gone…? Chance always has it that no one
crop is entirely predictable, but as long as one hedges, the overall pattern is
rewarding. The spinach field is a
picture of perfection—likely the best we’ve had in all the years
farming—perfect rows, few weeds. It should
also have been a good spring for the cole crops, but the flea beetles have been
ferocious. Anything not covered with a
row cover was eaten mercilessly. They’re
at the point now, though, where they are growing so fast the tiny bugs can’t
keep up. But it was a struggle. Enjoy the
salad greens—it’s the season for them. The warm season crops—peppers and tomatoes
look good, but are a ways off.
To repeat,
for those who have expressed interest in cheese, starting in July and every
second week of the month, we'd like to develop a regular cheese order. Because you need to know what the cheeses
are-- next week you’ll get the cheeses you ordered and get to taste them; then you’ll
notify us and have a regular standing monthly order. Thanks in advance for your patience while we try
to refine this system. Others could join in, but since you’ve missed the
deadline for getting some for next week, it will be a little blind.
Next week we
should be into local strawberry season—a real treat. We don’t grow these ourselves and the berries
are not organically grown. If you don’t want these berries, let us know and
we’ll substitute something else. In
addition to lots more salad fixings and spinach, you can expect as well some
beautiful kale and parsley for a tabouli salad.
We’ll be rotating the lettuces as best we can—romaine, red, green leaf,
and bibb.
Hoping you
are enjoying the fresh eats as we progress through the season, we are,
sincerely,
Don, Becky, & The Kretschmann Crew
Note: Everyone has
two tagged boxes(one at the farm). If you’re at one of the stops where you can
take the box home (generally in the east end
of Pittsburgh on Tuesdays or everyone on Wednesdays), but plan to
transfer your veggies into bags regularly, please let us know so we can take
the other crate out of circulation and save us handling it. (We mark the box
:”Uno”) At these same stops(the ones without asterisks on our stop list),
if we ever forget your box, give us a call right away that evening because when
we return the following day for the empties, we can bring another box for you.
Becky’s Rhubarb
Crisp: Blend 1/2 c. sugar + 1/2 c. butter + 2 eggs +
1/2 t. vanilla. Mix in 2 c. toast cubes
(stale bread etc. works too) + 4 c. cereal flakes. Spread 1/2 this mixture in oiled baking pan, arrange 4 c. diced fresh rhubarb sprinkle
w/1/2c.sugar, add remaining mixture on top.
Bake 375 deg. for 40 min. until rhubarb is tender.
Experimented and came up with this
last week. Filo dough is so hard to work
with…use tortillas instead!
Easy Spanakopita-Greek spinach pie a la
Donaldo: 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 4 beaten eggs. Cut 6 regular size corn tortillas in
half. Brush 9x9 baking dish with olive
oil. Lay 4 half tortillas in bottom of
dish flat side facing outward. Brush top
of tortillas with olive oil.
Spread half of the spinach
mixture evenly over the tortillas. Cover
with another layer of tortillas brushed with olive oil. Repeat with spinach
mixture, then another layer of oiled tortillas. Bake @ 350deg. 45 min.(regular Greek spanikopita recipe is on
our website)
Spinach Salad Dressing: 1 med. onion (or chives) minced, 1/4 c. honey
or 1/3 c. sugar, 1 tsp. celery seed, 3 Tbs. mustard, 1/2 c. cider vinegar, 1/2
c. oil. Blend.
Spinach pies, Spinach pizza: Simple and versatile, just saute
chopped spinach in oil with onions and garlic, add crumbled feta cheese and
salt. This can then be put atop a pizza
crust and baked slightly (black olives add pizzaz). Or add a little lemon juice and stuff the
same mix into pita bread for "spinach pies".
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.
Washing of the greens: We usually
wash our greens to knock the bulk of rain-splashed soil off the produce. We don’t claim to have them “table
ready”. Rewash to your pleasure.
--Veggie ID notes: Rosemary, thyme, and sage are the herbs
in the bag. If you don’t use them fresh
they dry without a lot of ado. Place on a paper or wicker plate in an airy
place. Crumble the dried leaves between your hands to use. Hot tip: You can
make your own herb mixes for use as a rub or in salad dressings by putting the
dried leaves in a small coffee grinder!
There’s also a bag of pea greens.
The leaves and tender parts of tendrils can be added to a salad or
tossed with hot pasta for a little taste of sweet pea.