Kretschmann Farm Sept. 21, 2010
don@kretschmannfarm.com www.kretschmannfarm.com
Greetings from the Kretschmanns,
We're just
starting the part of the season which is our favorite--the Fall. The fog is lifting--that perception that
you'll never get to the end of the pile of chores awaiting. There's satisfaction when you pass the early potato
field, harvested in August, and now we see small winter
peas beginning to turn the field green again and fix nitrogen for next
year's spring spinach crop. And we see
the gorgeous alfalfa fields, both those seeded this summer and those
established earlier, as conservers and enrichers of
our soils--a farmer's capital appreciation.
What was this year's June spinach field is now 2/3
planted in a winter rye cover crop and 1/3 is reseeded with our last succession
of green beans. On Saturday we planted
the last direct seeded cash crops--mesclun greens and
radishes. We've got lots yet to do
before the snow flies, but it's not "coming at us from all sides" as
has been the case since June.
You'll start to
see a somewhat of reverse cropping schedule to what happened in the spring,
with the reappearance of the cole crops--broccoli,
kale, and cabbage, plus cauliflower. Also, we can now enjoy salads with tomatoes. Curiously, this combo is somewhat hard to pull
off from the garden because one is a cool season crop and the other is hot
season. Autumn provides the widest
variety of fare--which is impossible in June or even July. We'll be having all variety of winter
squashes, roots from carrots to turnips, apples, as well as the tail end of the
summer tomatoes and peppers.
In the last
week, we've picked
nearly all of our Liberty apples.
It's always great to change pace in the fall and instead of constantly
looking down at crops, picking, and weeding, we're looking up. The picture of Erasmo
which has graced our website for years, hasn't changed
all that much, except that now his son, Angel,
is helping out. We're still learning how
to grade this year's apples. An odd
shape usually indicates insect damage, but we find this year it's only the
result of having been nearly frozen in May.
Many of these apples are out of round but quite sound (the Goldrushes
look like little cantalopes!) It sometimes it fools you... We hate to cull out apples needlessly, but it
takes a practiced eye. We hope you have
patience (and a paring knife).
Likewise, the
age-old height-of-the-apple- season bonanza of apple cider continues. Last week was our cider week, but to fill you
in, we have our cider custom pressed with Tom
and Sally
Davis of Sally's
Cider Press. Except for the UV
pasteurization loop and minor tweaks, this press hasn't changed all that much
in a century. The hammer mill turning
raw apples into the pumice,
the cloths which strain the juice, the wooden slats which allow it to flow out,
the stack
of filled cloths, and the big squeeze are something to see! Family members helping with pressing now
include son, daughter, sons and daughters-in-law and grandchildren. The juice
still flows copiously from the fruit. I'd say that's sustainable.
You've got
the last of the cilantro for the '10 season.
Celebrate with fresh salsa. Jalepeno can be minced and added to any stir fry for a
little zing.
Enjoying the autumn harvest moon this week,
we are, sincerely,
Don, Becky, & The Kretschmann Crew
Congratulations due: Jamie and Brad, two farm of our helpers this season, were married last
Saturday. Hurrah- our third pair! We gotta quit
leaving our help alone.
Tortellini w/Broccoli and
Carrots- Either parboil broccoli
pieces and sliced carrots until tender and add garlic powder, or stirfry the same (garlic first). Add this to hot tortellini with a little
olive oil. Season as desired, salt, nutritional yeast,
oregano, or dry parmesan. It's
very colorful and a quick meal.
Broccoli Stir Fry: Heat 2 tbs
vegetable oil in wok to high. Add 1
clove minced garlic, stir fry tossing a few seconds. Add 1 c. broccoli pieces, 1/2 c. onion
pieces, 1/2 c. french cut beans and fry 2 min. Turn down heat, cover. Mix 1 tbs flour and
1/2 c. water. Add to mixture with large
pinch black pepper, tsp. honey, pinch salt. Serve topped with lightly toasted
cashews.
Kale
Dumplings: Cook 1 bunch kale until tender, drain, and
chop finely. Melt 4 tbs. butter. Blend in 1/2 c. flour, 2 tsp. cream or milk, 1
c. chopped cooked kale, 3 eggs 1/2 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. pepper. Mix well.
Drop from spoon into boiling water.
Boil for 5 min. or until firm.
Serve with cheesy or white sauce.
Lemon Garlic
Beets: Quarter and slice beets into
1/4" slices. Toss with 2 tbsp olive oil, 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice, about
6-8 cloves of minced garlic, and salt and pepper to taste Cover, roast at 350F for about 45 minutes or
until fork-tender. Top with feta.
Shrimp and green beans: Saute 1lb of shrimp in a hot pan with olive oil and then
set aside. Heat more olive oil and saute 3 cloves of
smashed garlic. Add 1 1/2 c. beans as well as 1
tsp lemon zest and saute some more. Add a chicken bouillon cube and 1/2 c. water
and cook covered for a couple of minutes.
Dissolve 1/2 tsp of cornstarch in a bit of water and pour it in the
pan. After the cornstarch thickens, add
1/4 c. lemon juice, the shrimp, and salt and pepper to taste. When the shrimp is cooked
through, toss sauce with 1lb of cooked pasta.
Special Orders: Green
beans--$25/ 10lbs. these are very easy to
freeze-- just blanche in boiling water, cool in cold water, drain, and put in a
plastic bag in the freezer. Basil--$14
per 1/2 bu. box. Acorn
or butternut squash--$40/bu. Green
tomatoes--these would be smaller ones, good for relishes and mini-fried green
tomatoes--$10/ten pounds.
