Kretschmann Farm June 9, 2009

257 Zeigler Rd., Rochester, PA 15074 (724)452-7189

don@kretschmannfarm.com www.kretschmannfarm.com

Greetings from the Kretschmanns,

The rain last week, the warmth, and the long days are all conspiring to produce rapidly growing crops. The tomatoes look wonderful, the lettuces and greens are as good as it gets, beets and carrots—beautiful, onions are better than ever. Only peppers for some reason are lagging—they like it hot and dry. This week we’ll be catching up on seeding beans, squashes, and the direct seeded annual herbs—cilantro and dill. We’re still very much in planting season, though we are weeding and picking as well. This makes it a regular “three ring circus”—four if you count box preparation.

In addition to all the last minute unanticipated madness which defines switching gears into the harvest season, we were plagued with equipment breakdowns. Both golf carts, which serve as mini-pickups in the fields, were disabled last Friday. They are so handy and leave such a gentle footprint that we can’t be without them for long. Mechanic?

In anticipation of the start of mulching and staking tomatoes, we spent effort late last week cutting up some big oaks which had fallen in the woods into lengths suitable for stakes. We’ll have them sawed up this week. Quite remarkable-- the delivery truck now doubling as a log truck.

Hope all who ordered the cheeses got what you had ordered. There was a minor glitch— no bleu cheese because the maker had run out. We’ll be sure to have this for you next month. After you’ve had a chance to savor the cheeses, please let us know what you’d like for your standing monthly cheese order. It will come the second week of each month.

Enjoy the strawberries. Those in any other season are just imposters! Some years they’re sweeter, sometimes more tender, but always they just explode with juicy tart flavor begging for cream.

. Hoping you are enjoying the offerings of the season, we are, sincerely,

Don, Becky, & The Kretschmann Crew

P.S. The June payment is now due. If you’ve paid the deposit, that would be $255 for the small, $275 medium, $325 large, and $110 for 1/2 smalls.

Kale Simply:  Clean the kale, and tear it into bite-sizes pieces, removing the center rib. Steam or boil until just tender & serve hot. Drizzle with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar.   Salt to taste. Variation: drizzle a little sesame oil & sprinkle w/ seeds. Yum yum!

Our Favorite Shortcake: Sift 2c. flour, 3 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp. salt, 2 tbs. sugar. Mix in 1/2 c. oil well, until evenly distributed. Beat 1 egg and 5/8 c. milk and mix with dry ingredients. Pat out with oiled hands or use a plastic spatula to spread dough onto an oiled cookie sheet about 1/2 " thick. Bake @375 deg about 20 min. (we use all whole wheat flour with fine results) Cut up strawberries and top with whipped cream. Don’t let anyone say this dish isn’t more delicious and better for you than anything in that breakfast aisle at the grocery store.

Spinach Lasagna: Saute an onion and 1-2# chopped spinach in olive oil. Add to the ricotta cheese or to 3/4 # cream cheese. Layer with lasagna noodles and tomato sauce. Bake @ 325 deg. Save time and work making lasagna by using uncooked noodles, especially when adding vegetables or using more liquidy homemade tomato sauces.

Tabouleh: (Lebanese dish) to 1c. cooked bulgur (cracked) wheat, add 1/4 c olive oil, 1/4 c lemon juice, 1 bunch finely chopped scallions, lg bunch finely chopped parsley. Salt to taste. Another refreshing addition is a little finely chopped fresh mint. Serve on bed of lettuce or Lebanese style, wrapped in single lettuce leaves and eaten out of hand. (Parsley is just loaded with vitamin C!)

So easy even a novice can put this together…

Herbed Pasta: Use any combination of fresh herbs you like (we like to include about 1/2 oregano), chopped and tossed with minced garlic into about 1/4c hot olive oil. Let sit about an hour and toss with pasta.

Spinach Fritatta: Chop up ½ c. onions (green or bulb) Wash, spin dry, and chop 8 oz. spinach. Scramble 6 eggs with milk or water. Slice or grate about ½ c. of your favorite cheese. Saute onions in 2 tbs. olive oil. Toss in spinach and toss a few times, then pour eggs over spinach and use a fork to push down any spinach so it’s coated with egg. Top with cheese, turn down heat and cover tightly. When edges begin to cook and separate from pan, remove and put under broiler on low. Broil until eggs are cooked and cheese begins to bubble and brown. This requires a pan with fireproof handle. We like a big old cast iron frying pan because it holds the heat from the stovetop and is perfect for broiling.

Wash your 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: Herbs this week are oregano, rosemary, and thyme. Unless you specifically have plans to use any of these herbs fresh within a week, be sure to take them out of the bag and allow them to dry. It’s easy. They can then be used at will, or crumbled from the stems and put in airtight jars for later use.