Kretschmann Farm Aug. 31, 2010
don@kretschmannfarm.com www.kretschmannfarm.com
Greetings from the Kretschmanns,
The brilliant
sunny skies, the gradually shortening days, and the crisp cool nights last week
reminded us that fall is on the way. But
it appears we've got some scorching days to endure this week. Likewise the crops are shifting our
attentions as well. The broccoli and
other cole crops have totally filled their allotted space presenting the
characteristic unusual blue green fields on our north
slopes between the apple blocks. The
fall turnips and spinach have been seeded.
(Turnips are like weeds in that they take a scant 1.2 days to germinate
at 70 deg.) The first cover crops are planted.
As the apples
ripen, in another two weeks we'll be making the first cider and we'll know
for sure we've arrived in that magical autumnal time.
The tomatoes
have slowed considerably, or rather, we've just plain picked off the biggest
surge of the determinate slicing varieties.
We had left the paste (roma or San Marzano) varieties in the field
because they get more flavorful with time and don't degrade into mushballs if
left for a week. And we just can't keep
up with the cherry
tomatoes. Picking these varieties
has taken all the spare time and boxes we have. Also, look for more peppers,
especially hot peppers. These can be
identified easily as thin, long but not as large as the sweet Italia. The jalapeños
are short and squat. Of course, you can
always identify them by taste, too!
There were two
small omissions on the "bill" we recently sent out--blue cheese
wasn't listed, though it was calculated into the cheese total, and we didn't specifically
list the amount for your veggies for the season. Especially, when communicating you'll be away
for a week, let us know the stop letter where you pick up. We can then quickly mark the barn list
without having to look it up on the computer.
If you have questions, let us know.
Kudos to the delivery people - those boxes are heavy
this week!
Enjoying
every bit of 2010, we are, sincerely,
Don, Becky, & The Kretschmann
Crew
Roasted
Tomatoes: Brush cookie sheet or
baking pan with olive oil. Cut up
tomatoes about ½ “ thick or halve paste tomatoes lengthwise tossing in olive
oil and spread thickly on baking sheet.
Spread minced garlic on top after.
Roast in 200 deg oven until they are well cooked and start to dry
and turn dark on the top. Season with
salt and pepper. Serve with crusty
Italian bread, or use in a pasta salad, sandwich, on pizza - any way you'd use
sun-dried tomatoes (but these are better!). The best part is that they'll keep
in a tightly sealed jar in the frig for about 2 weeks (bring to room
temperature before serving) - so it's an easy way to "preserve" some
of those delicious tomatoes we're getting without
having to can them.
Bean Salad Nicoise--Whisk together 1/4 c cider vinegar, 1/2 c olive oil, 1 tbs
Country Special Beets: Stir together -1/2 cup sour cream, 2 Tbs vinegar, 1
Tbs minced green onion, 1 Tbs sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper and 4 cups
sliced cooked beets in saucepan. Heat slowly, stirring occasionally. Do not boil.
Late Summer Stir Fries: Saute chicken, beef, pork, or shrimp pieces with
zucchini, sliced peppers, onions...(beans..even corn)
for 5 min. high heat. Then add just a few chopped tomatoes stir fry
a few minutes longer, turn down heat, cover tightly and simmer not more than 5
min. A few cherry tomatoes are great for
this, or even a few yellow ones for a buttery look. Season and serve atop rice or pasta.
Fresh Salsa: 4 tomatoes, 1 bunch cilantro, about 1 green
onion (or 1 medium sized dry onion or a small bunch of chives)--chop all these
very finely. Add salt, 4T lemon or lime
juice, dash of garlic powder
--There are so many variations on salsas, that it's hard to think in terms
of a recipe. One could even do an entire
well balanced meal with just a variety of salsas. This is almost the season of
salsas. There are so many colors, textures,
and flavors. Try grilling or smoking a
few ears of corn and adding these to a basic fresh salsa. For a little protein
in your "salsa/chip meal" add some black beans, or any kind of
precooked beans. Finely mince a raw
jalepeno pepper, or roast, peel and deseed it first. Add a tablespoon or two of tomato paste or a
cooked and mashed tomatillo to thicken.
We like to mix the colors of tomatoes--yellow, green, red, pink. Fresh cilantro is essential and separates the
blase' canned ones from the vibrant fresh ones by a country mile.
Reuse, Recycle: Keep those used blueberry/cherry tomato pints coming back! Otherwise we'll have to use little plastic
bags for the cherry tomatoes. The cost
of the pints is sinful--nearly $.30 each!
Veggie
ID: The red horn shaped peppers are
Italias. They are very sweet and not at
all hot. The only hot peppers are the jalepenos.
Special Orders: Basil--$14
1/2 bu. box. It's easy to freeze a batch of pesto for the winter. Half bushel is a
lot of pesto.
We've got extra goats' milk feta and chevre
cheeses--half#/ $6.00 Cull tomatoes for
canning: $12/20# box (ripe&ready)
