Kretschmann Farm July 28, 2009
don@kretschmannfarm.com www.kretschmannfarm.com
Greetings from the Kretschmanns,
As we had been in the grips of a cycle of
drought previously, the last week and a half has brought the other shoe
dropping or should I say dripping with monsoon-like rains. One could say, “Always complaining, those
farmers are just never satisfied.” But
the bigger picture is that we humans live within such an incredibly small range
of temperature and humidity. Think of
it. Temperatures in the universe range
from absolute zero to temperatures of nuclear fusion—millions of degrees, and
we can only stand a range of about 50 deg. C. And we’ve got oceans of water on
the planet, thousands of feet of glaciers, and more water in the sky, and our
food supply can only tolerate about an inch a week. How could we not be whining when we’re born
into our world with these kinds of tolerances?
Blueberries and red cabbage make it a week
of double purple/blue foods. After
reading last winter (somewhere, I don’t remember) that foods of this color are
especially nutritious, we resolved to beef up our purples. More purple onions, more red cabbage, more
beets, and blueberries. At the very least, they make a beautiful plate. If you don’t use your cabbage all at once,
put the remainder in a plastic bag so it doesn’t dry out. These cabbages last incredibly long in the
fridge, and can also be used in salads.
We’ve been really pleased with the sweet
bulbing onions. Picking them with the
tops still green gives you the option to use the green top much as you would a
scallion.
When are the tomatoes coming? We’ve got more of these favorite garden
fruits planted than just about anything else, but they just aren’t ripe yet. Becky has taken to scouting the fields for
those first few red ones. Last week, she
just couldn’t wait and picked a bunch of green ones and made fried green
tomatoes. I guess it’s an acquired
taste, but we agreed we want red ones.
The numbers are slowly increasing.
Tons to come. Lots more carrots
to come as well.
The sweet corn is grown by Tom Brenkle, our
good neighbor. We gave up growing corn
because, surrounded by woods, we just can’t keep the deer and raccoons from
wiping us out. Picked this morning, corn
can’t get any fresher. It’s one of the
very few things we have not organically grown. We mention it on our website,
but be sure to let us know if you don’t want it. We can substitute something else.
If you
can get your pint home without eating them en route ,try blueberry shortcake…?
Hoping you are enjoying the summer as much
as we are, sincerely,
Don, Becky, & The
Kretschmann Crew
Recycling Note: We greatly appreciate everyone’s effort to
reuse and recycle. We’ll gladly take
containers which we use—strawberry quarts and blueberry pints. But, please, no odd size containers from
elsewhere. We don’t reuse plastic bags,
rubber bands, or cider containers.
Red Cabbage Salad with Ginger Dressing:
Combine 4 c. shredded red cabbage, 1 c. shredded
carrot, ½ c. minced parsley, and 2 c. finely sliced green onion. Grate or mince 1 tbs. fresh ginger and
squeeze out the juice in a garlic press or similar. Combine ginger juice with 3 tbs. vinegar, 1
tbs. lemon juice, 1 tbs. honey, 4 tbs sesame oil, salt to taste, and toss well
with shredded vegetables. Toast 2 tbs. sesame seeds in dry heated skillet until
they start to pop. Sprinkle these atop the salad. Mmmm….
Carrots with Lemon and
Dill-- Slice and steam about 1#
carrots sliced 1/2" thick. Saute 1/2 c. minced onion in 2 tbs butter. Add
carrots, 1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel, and 1/4 c. dry white wine, and 1 tbs.
lemon juice; stir and cook until most of the liquid is reduced, about 2
min. Add 2 tbs minced fresh dill, salt,
pepper, and lemon juice to taste.
Repeating this highly nutritious favorite now
because it’s great with cucumbers!
Tabouleh: To 1c. cooked bulgur (cracked) wheat, add 1/2
c olive oil, 1/2 c lemon juice, 1 bunch finely chopped scallions, lg bunch
finely chopped parsley. Salt to taste.
(Cucumbers, tomatoes, and celery can also be finely chopped and added.) In this case, one can put all ingredients in
a ceramic or glass crock (wheat uncooked) with the tomatoes and cucumbers on
top and refrigerate for at least 1 day, and up to two weeks. Another refreshing addition is a little
finely chopped fresh mint. Serve on bed
of lettuce.
Sweet and Sour Red
Cabbage: Shred 2# red cabbage and saute in 3 Tbs.
butter. Add 1/4 c. brown sugar or honey
and 1/4 c. vinegar and about 1/2 c. water and simmer until tender. If desired thicken the sauce by adding a tbs
of flour mixed in 1/2 c. water just before serving. You can also steep spices in a tea ball in
the water before adding or use herbed vinegar. Salt to taste.
We’ll offer
these the next few weeks and they can be delivered when we bring your veggie
box.
Special
Orders: Organic Blueberries—12
pt. flat $47