Kretschmann Farm
June 1, 2010
don@kretschmannfarm.com www.kretschmannfarm.com
Greetings from the Kretschmanns,
The 2010 season is off and running! We’ve been commenting what a beautiful spring
it has been with an unusual number of sunny blue sky days, abundant moisture,
and crops growing very well indeed. The
one disappointment was the morning of May 10 when about 2/3 of young apple fruitlets were frozen.
The pollination was excellent and we had been galloping away at our hand
thinning to promote sizing, when the temps plunged. Our hearts sunk.
Salads are king! Though the lettuce has yet to peak, we’ve
managed to time the mesclun mix so all the
ingredients are superb at the same time. Getting the baby lettuce and the other
“wild”or “unusual” additions to come simultaneously
can be a maddening challenge—one thing perfect, another overmature.
You can see pictures of the most common mesclun ingredients on our website. We’re often asked for identification of
herbs. It’s very time consuming to tag
each bunch, so we’ve posted
pictures on the website as well.
They are posted in a file-tree under our newsletters. If not in the
annotated, captions go top to bottom and left to right. You can also find an
extensive listing of veggie recipes.
Perhaps we’re getting ahead of ourselves this
season, but we’re thinking that rather than wait to pick some items which we’ve
always tried to spread out so as to equalize the boxes week to week, we’ll just
forward them to you. That way, if you
have a recipe this week requiring something which we’re holding, you can
proceed with the fresh local ingredient.
Generally things last in good condition a minimum of two weeks anyway.
We try to let you know what’s coming on so you can get geared up, but please
know that it’s sometimes difficult to know precisely when a crop will mature
and in what quantities and condition.
Many times we really don’t know until we’re out there picking.
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.
Salad greens will continue
in spades for the foreseeable future. We
currently have three plantings of lettuce in the ground (about a month and a
half of lettuce) and two more seeded in flats.
We rotate the lettuces as best we can—romaine, red, green leaf, and bibb. There are two
more plantings of spinach and more mesclun greens
were just seeded last week. Strawberries
are next in line as well as the cookable greens—swiss chard and kale. Broccoli, and beets are likely next, though
the verdict is still out on the broccoli because when the spring plantings are effected in any way by stress—like drought or cold—the heads
“button”. This means that instead of a
big family-sized head, you only get a little “button” of a head, usually no
bigger than a lemon. How about them
radishes? We’ve got lots more coming as
long as it doesn’t get too hot or dry.
E-mailing the note two weeks ago proved that
the vast majority of subscribers regularly read their e-mail. We’ll limit notes
which require a confirmation to only when necessary. We’ll be adding hotlinks
to the newsletters which can be pursued or not, depending on the need or your
interest. This way more detailed
information can be at your fingertips when needed. Sometimes this can be a picture, or it can be
a more detailed explanation etc.
Hoping you enjoy 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. 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.
Pea Shoot Pesto: Place ¼ # tender pea shoots, 1 bch onions, 1/3 c. parmesan cheese, 1/3 c.
olive oil, ¼ c toasted pine nuts or walnuts salt and pepper in food processor
or blender. Blend pulsing until it’s a
thick paste. Toss with more pea shoots
and your favorite pasta. Shrimp are good
in this too.
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.
Rhubarb
is also a great sauce for toppin. Just
peel, dice, and add1/2c. sugar for each c.
rhubarb, a little water to cook, boil until slightly thick. Add a little red jam or jelly for color. This
is great on ice cream or cheese cake. Will post mom’s incomparable New
York cheesecake recipe as soon as I’m done online.
Rosemary Focaccia: Make recipe of your favorite bread proportioned to use
1 c. liquid. When preparing the liquid
ingredients add 2 tbs. finely minced rosemary (you can
also add onions, garlic, or other herbs).
Add the flour, knead and raise the first
time. Punch down and roll into a flat
rectangular shape. Oil a large baking
sheet and dust with cornmeal. Lift focaccia onto sheet and press dough out to cover. Allow to rise again, and before baking (400
deg) press a number of indentations in the top with your fingers. Brush with 2 tbs. olive oil and sprinkle with
another tbs finely minced rosemary and grated
Parmesan cheese. Bake approx 20 min until golden brown and hollow sounding when
tapped. Serve hot!
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.
Spanakopita- Greek spinach pie: If using frozen filo
dough defrost two hours ahead until it is at room temperature. (leave wrapped) 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. 2-6 beaten eggs can be mixed in here or
omitted, Greeks say yes, Californians-no (adjust for no eggs by adding a little
more flour though). Unwrap and straighten filo dough,
then cover so it doesn't dry out. Brush cake pan with olive oil then lay first several sheets of filo
letting excess lap over edges. Brush with oil, then add another layer, brush,
etc. until 1/2 filo is used. Spread all the spinach mixture evenly over
the filo, including the corners. Cover with remaining filo,
oiling every few sheets as before. Roll and tuck the filo
around the inside edges of the pan. Bake @ 350deg. 45 min. Have you discovered those little filo
shells? Just make the spinach mixture as
above and spoon into the shells and bake. These can be frozen easily and pulled
out at a moment’s notice for a real added treat to any meal or for
company.
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 and
thyme are the herbs. Don’t just put them in the frig. 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.
