Spring Carrots
Tendersweet Cabbage
Romano Green Bean or Sungold Tomatoes
Suyo Long & Slicer Cucumbers
Bibb or Butterhead Lettuce
Russian Kale
Scallions
Basil
Dill
Rain and hot and more hot and more rain. Seems like July has already arrived, when we are sweating profusely at 8:30 am in the 98% humidity. But hey, its actually still June, the longest day of the year has just passed, and we are officially in summertime. This coming week we will begin our Fall transplants such as cauliflower, romanesco, collards, cabbage, radicchio, and fennel; while simultaneously beginning to seriously harvest our Summer crops as well as a few of our Spring crops; which have arrived a bit late. The farm is definitely quite weedy and certain crops seem difficult to maintain; but we plow forward. This past week we trellised our pepper plantings, pruned and tied tomatoes, transplanted our field corn, and finished our garlic harvest. Upcoming projects include setting up our shade structure for parsnips, celeriac, parsley, and greens; trellising pole and long beans, planting our late hoop house cucumbers and winter squash, feeding our summer crops to give them nutrients to stay strong, and bulk harvesting spring crops for cold storage, so we can clear those crop fields before the bugs take over or the weeds go to seed. It’s summertime and the days are full. This week’s share has a number of first timers, such as carrots, tendersweet cabbage (grown only in the Spring and amazing for slaw), romano thick-podded green beans, and sungold tomatoes. This will be the last of the kale until Fall, so enjoy it while you can. Check out some of the recipes below and enjoy the share…..Autumn & Brian
New Cabbage with Scallions – The Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis
The first time we would cook and serve our newly grown garden cabbage was on a wheat-threshing day. We would cut up many heads and cook them in a large iron pot with liquid from the pork shoulder and a small amount of fat for seasoning. Cabbage cooked that way was a hearty fare, good sustenance for hardworking men. We children usually had the food that was left over from the midday meal that night for supper and thought it was just great. No other food in the world seemed to have quite the good flavor of what was left over from a wheat-threshing dinner.
1 2-pound head new cabbage
1/3 cup tender green scallion tops, cut into ¼” slices
2 cups boiling water, or preferably stock from boiled pork shoulder
3 Tbls freshly rendered fat from bacon or ham
salt and freshly ground pepper
To prepare the cabbage, trim away the outside leaves and cut the head into quarters. Cut away the core, leaving just enough to hold the leaves intact. Place the pieces of cabbage in a bowl of cold water for about 15 minutes or so to wash out any dust or bugs, particularly if it has come straight out of the garden. Remove, drain in a colander, then place in a 3-quart saucepan and add the scallion tops to give added flavor and color. Pour the boiling water or stock over and toss the cabbage with two spoons to make sure that each piece is scalded. Add the fat so that it coats the cabbage, then turn the burner low so that the cabbage boils briskly but not too rapidly for 25-30 minutes –any longer and the cabbage will become too soft and its taste will change. Drain. Toss the salt to taste and a good grating of freshly ground pepper to heighten the flavor. Serve hot.
