TOMTEN FARM

Sugar Baby Watermelon
Lettuce or Arugula
Cutting Celery
Flat Leaf Parsley
German White Garlic
Red Creole Onions
Romano Beans, Anaheim, or Padron Peppers
Mix of Slicer, Sauce, and Cherry Tomatoes

Purslane
Cucumbers
Beets
Dill
Basil
Garlic
Candy Onions
Sangre or Red Gold Potatoes
Red Pear & San Marzano Sauce Tomatoes

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind and today is the first day “off” we have taken in a long time. Last weekend we had a wonderful dinner at Sub Rosa Bakery benefitting Birdhouse Farmers Market. We collaborated with Evrim and Evin from Sub Rosa along with Paul Winston of Dutch & Company in designing the menu and creating the vegetable heavy all local feast. It was a very satisfying and fun meal to make. Some of the highlights include working with a wood-fired oven as our main cooking source, working with food all coming from Birdhouse Market vendors, having a great group of market volunteers for the service, excellent alcohol pairings coming from Native Selections, Potters Cider, J EmersonWines, Ardent Craft Brewery, and Lamplighter Coffee and a adventurous group of diners willing to be over fed. Spending time experimenting with dishes is something of a rarity for us in mid-Summer; so although exhausting this dinner was a great reminder of why we grow food: so people can cook amazing meals and eat deliciousness.

On the farm we are consumed with harvesting and managing our Summer crops. Mainly we are hoping for rain. In our immediate vicinity we have been without rain for a few weeks, 15 miles in every direction has been hit with many of the storms over the past few weeks, but not us. We are also feeling the effects of the May monsoon; that delayed a lot of our nightshade plantings by 2-3 weeks. Now 2 months later we are noticing a slow start to our peppers, eggplants, and 2^nd and 3^rd succession tomatoes. Although we are harvesting some, they are increasing production very slowly. In May the plants were held in pots longer than needed, so their roots stagnated in growth and they often take time to bounce back. In addition we have had limited rain and really hot conditions. Most heat loving plants prefer 85 degrees and good amounts of water. All this means that the CSA will see slow starts to some of these Summer crops. On a good note though our early and sauce style tomatoes are in full swing, our onion and garlic crops survived and are curing nicely, and we have had a bumper cucumber crop over the past few weeks. This week we are giving you wild purslane, the stuff that grows in many areas on our farm and amongst our crops. This green is widely used throughout the Middle East. The leaves and tender stems (not main stem parts) can be eaten simply dressed with salt, lemon, and olive oil or used in a multitude of ways. Check out this article with many recipes 45 Things To Do With Purslane or check out the recipes we have highlighted below. Enjoy the share……Brian and Autumn

Purslane and beet salad

Cucumber, Onion And Purslane Salad

Salade Khorfeh – Shirazi Style Purslane Salad

Creamy Cucumber and Grilled Potato Salad

Tiella di patate, cipolle e pomodori (Potato, Onion and Tomato Casserole) 

Pasta Pomodoro

Sungold Cherry or Early Tomatoes
Fresh Cippolini Onions
Zephyr Squash or Cousa Zucchini
Mesclun Salad Mix
Swiss Chard
Escarole
Parsley

Happy Fourth of July to you all. Summer seems to officially be here and this coming week’s heat and dry conditions are proof. So we are seeing the last of some of our Spring greens in the share such as escarole and salad mix. Over the next few months we will occasionally have some lettuce heads or arugula; but it’s always hit or miss with our Summer plantings and never any guarantees. Tomatoes have finally really begun to ripen. We currently have three successions of plants loaded with leaf foliage and fruit; but the ripening has been painfully slow. Summer squash has been enjoying these conditions and producing very well. Even our peppers and eggplants are beginning to really put on foliage and size. Over the next month we will begin to harvest from some varieties. Our first beans are flowering and putting on small beans, so we are a few weeks out from beginning to harvest them, with 3 different successions going. Our early corn, Cateto (flint style for polenta), is also putting on heads and looks like it might be ready by early September this year. With all of these crops it is just a matter of keeping weeds at bay and getting them sufficient amounts of water to produce well. Being that it is looking like a hot and dry July, keeping things properly irrigated will be one of our biggest challenges. More about our irrigiation plight in future weeks. We have included some inventive ideas for both the swiss chard and escarole, if you are over sautéing them as a side or using in a salad. Check out the recipes below and enjoy your share…….Autumn and Brian

Escarole Tart

Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Gorgonzola and Escarole

Pasta With Corn, Zucchini And Tomatoes

Eggs Nested in Sautéed Chard and Mushrooms

Swiss Chard Pancakes

Roasted Zucchini and Cippolini Onion with Hazelnut Romesco Sauce

Tendersweet Cabbage
Red Gold New Potatoes
Marketmore Cucumbers
Early Tomatoes
Danvers Carrots
Little Gem Lettuce
Fresh Garlic
Dill & Mint

Roasted Calamari with Garlic, New Potatoes, and Chickpeas

Our 10 best new potato recipes

Chickpeas with Tomatoes and Carrots

Anchovy, Little Gem, and Tomato Salad

Flatbreads with Cucumber Raita

Cowtown Coleslaw – adapted from A Cowboy in the Kitchen by Grady Spears & Robb Walsh
serves 4 – This peppery slaw is colorful and has a zing to it.
4 cups julienned Green Cabbage (can mix in about ¼ red cabbage too)
1 large or 2 small carrots, peeled and julienned
3 jalapenos peppers, stemmed, seeded, and julienned
1 Tbls fresh chopped dill
3/4 cups mayonnaise (preferably Dukes)
1/3 cup malt vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbls freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice
kosher salt to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste
Place all of the vegetables in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, and lime juice. Pour the dressing over the vegetables, season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Set aside in the refrigerator until serving time. Its best made and served on the same day.

Salata Arabieh (Arab Salad) – The New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden
Serves 4 – In this most common of Arab salads, all the ingredients are cut very small. Do not prepare it too long before serving, and dress it just before serving.
1 small head romaine lettuce
1 small red Italian or mild white onion or 5 scallions
1 small-med cucumber
2 tomatoes
4 radishes, thinly sliced
2 Tbls chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tsp chopped fresh dill or chervil
1 Tbls chopped fresh mint
3 Tbls extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1/3 lemon
salt and pepper
1 small clove garlic, crushed
Shred the lettuce, chop the onions finely, and cut the vegetables into tiny dice, using a sharp knife. Put them in a bowl with the radishes and herbs. Make a dressing with oil and lemon juice, slat and pepper, and garlic if you like. Pour over the salad and mix well.

Basil
Parsley
Arugula
Fennel
Candy Onions
Frisee or Escarole
Chioggia or Red Ace Beets
Russian Kale or Spigariello
Zephyr Summer Squash

We were lucky this past week in that the devastating storm missed us by about 20 miles, so although we experienced some wind and rain it was nothing to speak of and all is well on the farm. We got a nice amount of rain, but we still need to irrigate in order to catch up for dry conditions over the past few weeks. The weed pressure has definitely set in and it is a bit intimidating; but we pick and choose what is top priority and get down to hand-weeding, cultivating, hoeing, whatever we have time for. June is a time when we are harvesting a tremendous variety of crops, some semi-weekly and others in one or two big harvests such as onions, garlic, and potatoes. Plus we are always catching up with planting multiple successions of nightshades, cucurbits, beans, and quick green crops. After all this is done, we feel a bit limited in time; but this is the most important time for managing the Summer crops, meaning not just the weeding; but also debugging, feeding the crops through foliar feeds or injections into their irrigation, and sometime mulching, shading, etc. This year has been more “caught up” than in past years; mostly due to the fact that we have more help, in addition to our full time intern Ellen, we also have some returning part-time help and having more hands makes this all possible. Even so each week seems hectic and the list is too long, but it is June and this week is the solstice, so we are officially in the summertime.

So although this week marks the beginning of Summer, the early Summer crops seem to be happening so slowly this year. Part of this is due to the 3 weeks in May that were temperate, grey, and wet. Not only did we get behind in planting our crops such as eggplant and peppers, the crops we had planted such as tomatoes and cucumbers grew loads of green leafy mass, but the fruit set and now ripening has been painfully slow. Although we are now harvesting cucumbers and tomatoes, they are small amounts, teasing us just a little bit. When they do actually become available it will be all at once, multiple successions and every farm in the area will be flush. It is coming any day now. Your share this week is full of aromatics: the basil, parsley, sweet onions, and fennel. All of these can and should be used to brighten up your dish or meal. There are also some bitter or strong greens included in this share. We encourage using them as a base for a heavier salad as a meal or thinking about grilling, sautéing, or using sparse amounts in a sandwich or such. For those of you unfamiliar with Spigariello, it is a cross between broccoli leaf and Tuscan kale; but like broccoli raab it can be used stems, leaf, and all. Unlike broccoli raab, it is not super bitter, but rather a bit nutty and earthy. It is great added into a pasta or egg dish. It can be blanched and then sautéed with garlic and onions in olive oil and served as a side. Get creative with the summer squash and zucchini as now is the flush time with this crop. For us it is delicious fried, grilled, grated, roasted, sautéed, and especially with herbs and eggs. Enjoy the recipes and the share……Autumn and Brian

The sweet side of bitter greens

Grilled endive recipe works with any type (frisée, escarole, radicchio, chicory, witloof)

Grilled Zucchini with Buttermilk-Basil Dressing

CARAMELIZED FENNEL AND ARUGULA PIZZA WITH A SOURDOUGH CRUST

PASTA WITH FENNEL, KALE, AND LEMON

SHAVED ZUCCHINI SALAD WITH PARMESAN PINE NUTS

Napa Cabbage
Mustard Greens
Daikon Radish
Carrots
Scallions
Fresh Garlic
Lettuce (iceberg & red leaf)
Broccoli or Bok Choy
Shiso aka Perilla

The farm has been a flurry of activity. We processed chickens for a second time in a month last week. We are struggling to find enough cool daylight hours to get our planting all accomplished as well as our cool season crops harvested before they wilt from the sun. This time of year is when we are always in a time crunch, either from the weather, or just lack of enough time and manpower. We have gotten a lot in the ground though since the rain stopped at the end of May, most of our peppers and tomatoes, all our eggplant, corn, okra, and watermelons, and early successions of beans and cucumbers. Now its just making sure they are properly managed, i.e. weeded, irrigated, fed, etc. Soon we will be looking to harvest onions, garlic, and potatoes, all which take considerable time when they are ready. It is an exciting week though, we ate our first cucumber and some first tomatoes and before you know it we will be having those in our shares. For now though we are happy to offer cabbage, daikon, and some delicious carrots. This week’s share ingredients are perfect for making pickles, whether Korean Kimchi or Vietnamese Dua Chua. Kimchi is a fermented pickle, combining salt and chile powder on whatever vegetables you use, such as napa cabbage, mustard greens, daikon radish, carrots, and scallions. Dua Chua translates to “pickled stuff” and is a sweet and savory mixture of white vinegar and sugar over julienned carrot and daikon radish. This condiment or salad is most often found on Bahn Mi. In addition we have added a recipe for Perilla (Shiso) Kimchi, although you might need to make a much smaller amount than the recipe indicates, as we are giving you a very small amount of our wild shiso since it is still small. We love its unusual earthy, minty, flavor. It can be used alongside cilantro, mint, or basil to garnish many dishes or as a seasoning herb. If pickling is not your thing, you can make an Asian style slaw, stir fry, salad rolls, and soups. For some inspiration you can look back to recipes in the May 23^rd – 29^th share or check out the ones listed below. Enjoy the share……Brian and Autumn

Easy to make Kimchi

Perilla leaf kimchi

Carrot and Daikon Pickle Salad

Japanese-Style Daikon Radish Curry

Anything Goes Donabe

Asian Style Slaw 

Basil
Escarole
Swiss Chard
Arugula or Salad Mix
Lettuce (Canary Tongue or Butterhead)
Hakurei Salad Turnips
French Breakfast Radishes
Summer Squash or Zucchini
Spring Onions (Cippolini, Candy, or Tropea)

If you like to grill, this week’s share has a nice assortment of options. The escarole, spring onions, summer squash, and even turnips would all be delicious simply done with salt, pepper, and a little oil paired with steak, fish, chicken or eaten on their own. The turnips and radishes can be mandolined or grated and then dressed with rice vinegar, salt, and a touch of sugar, left to sit for 30 minutes and then added atop any leafy green salad with a little feta or goat cheese. We have included two recipes for cooked escarole, but we also love eating it as a salad with homemade croutons, parmesan, bacon, and dressed as a ceaser or with lemon and olive oil. It is delicious. We hope you enjoy the share……Autumn and Brian

Grilled Escarole

 Charred Corn Tacos with Zucchini-Radish Slaw

Sicilian-Style Chickpeas with Carmelized Onions and Escarole

Provençal Zucchini and Swiss Chard Tart

Roasted Baby Turnips With Spicy Mustard Dressing

Charlie Bird’s Farro Salad

Broccoli
Frisee
Fennel
Lettuce (Ortolani romaine or New Red Fire leaf)
Beets (Chioggia or Red Ace)
Summer Squash
Garlic Scapes
Dill

Summer Crops are finally beginning to grow and Spring crops are coming in like mad what with the 25 degree temperature change in the past week. We have been extremely busy catching up with crop cultivation and planting. This coming storm is a bit ill timed, but at least we have gotten a lot done over the past week. The crazy array of crops is reflected a bit in this week’s share. It is a first for us to have summer squash, fennel, broccoli, and beets all together. Evin Dogu, co-owner of Sub Rosa Bakery has stated that our beets right now are wonderful raw and should not be cooked. We heeded her advice and have indeed been eating them grated or mandolined in composed salads. Although this is not our common way to eat them we have to agree with her, as they are sweet, beautiful, tender, and crisp right now. Tired of green salads, try thinking of lettuce and salad greens as components to a larger dish, such as a grated fennel and beet salad with tahini dressing set on top of crunchy romaine. Put a bed of lightly dressed greens under fish or chicken, use in tacos, or garnish on rice or grain dishes. Or think about wilting the greens with a hot bacon vinaigrette or broiling them in the oven. Before you know it the greens will be hard to find, so enjoy them while they are abundant.

Now for the garlic scapes, we look forward to this once per year delicacy all Spring. Although the look funny, they can be used as a replacement for garlic in any recipe. A longish scape will be equivalent to 1-2 cloves of garlic. You can mash them, mince them, or use in bigger pieces for some garlic punch. Want more ideas we have included the excerpt written last year.….This may be your big bunch of Garlic Scapes for the season. If you are unfamiliar with these lovely things, they are a special delicacy that is available for about three weeks. The scape would eventually become the flower bud on each garlic plant. By pulling them out, more energy is put into growing the bulb, making for larger garlic in the end. The scape on its own is tender with a little crunch and has a superb garlic flavor without a ton of heat. They will store in a plastic bag for at least 3 weeks, but can also be pickled using the brine for a basic dilly bean recipe and they make amazing additions to any pickle plate. Other options for the scapes are making garlic butter (blend the scapes, mix with softened butter and a little salt, then using wax paper make the butter into a log roll, wrap in plastic wrap, freeze, and use as needed.) or garlic scape pesto (check out this website for recipes: http://www.saveur.com/article/-/Garlic-Scapes-Recipes). Have a great week and enjoy the share….Brian and Autumn

Chicken Breasts with Mushrooms and Wilted Frisée

Roasted Sausage with Broccoli and Fennel

Fettuccine with Gorgonzola and Broccoli

Barley, Fennel, and Beet Salad 
***Add dill and minced garlic scapes to this recipe

Heirloom Beet Carpaccio
***Replace garlic with mashed garlic scapes and please season frisee generously with salt and lemon

Frittata With Grated Zucchini, Goat Cheese and Dill

Bok Choy or Flowering Brassica
Fava Greens
Mustard Greens
Lettuce (Panisse Oakleaf & Little Gem Bibb)
Nelson Carrots
Hakueri Turnips
Baby Daikon Radish
Cilantro & Basil Tops
Scallions

There are so many combinations of dishes you can make with this assortment of vegetables; but in late spring or early summer we often find inspiration in Japanese cuisine. There is something beautiful about how much of the cuisine uses one or two main ingredients in a dish, highlighting a particular meat, starch, or vegetable. We have included a number of dishes to make a wonderful meal or two or three from this week’s share.

All recipes below from Japanese Farm Food by Nancy Singleton Hachisu

Sukiyaki

Country Soup with Vegetables

Heirloom Red Lettuce Salad with Soy Sauce

DASHI — MAKING IT, AND A COUPLE OF SIMPLE USES

Bitter Greens with Dashi
2 small bunches (1 1/3lb) Bitter Greens: mustard, turnip, or komatsuna
1/3 cup Dashi
2 Tbls Soy Sauce
2 Tbls freshly shaved katsuobushi or 3 Tbls hanakatsuo
Bring a large pot of hot water to a boil and place a large bowl of cold water on the kitchen sink. Hold the bunches of greens by their tops and lower the stems into the boiling water. Count to ten or twenty, then drop the greens into the pot and cook an additional 1-3 minutes. Scoop out the greens with a strainer and dump them immediately into the cold water. Turn on the tap and plunge your hands into the water, lifting the greens up directly into the stream of cold running tap water to cool them. Pull out a few connected strands and squeeze down the length of the greens to express the excess water. Ley the greens on the cutting board, cut off the end tips, and slice into 2” lengths.
Squeeze the greens one more time and arrange the clumps attractively on a medium-sized saucer with the cut sides face up. Season the dashi with soy sauce, pour over the greens, and sprinkle with shaved katsuobushi right before serving.
Variation: Also nice with some slivered citrus peel, such as yuzu or meyer lemon. Although in this case I would cut back, or omit the katsuobushi.

Turnips and Turnip Leaves Pickled in Salt
8 tender turnips with leaves
2 Tbls sea salt
1 meyer lemon or 2 yuzu
2 small fresh or dried red chile peppers
1 tsp slivered ginger
Ratio: turnips:salt-10:4

Slice the tops of turnips and reserve. Cut turnips in half vertically, then crosswise into thin half rounds. Slice a couple of small handfuls of leaves into 2 by 1 ¼” pieces. Toss the turnips and leaves together in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Gently but firmly massage the salt in to distribute well, encouraging the turnips to exude a bit of their water. With a very sharp knife or vegetable peeler, shave off the outer yellow zest of the lemon, taking care to avoid the bitter white pith. Stack small slices of zest and slice into very thin strips. Slice the chiles into thin rounds. Slide the zest, chiles, and ginger into the bowl of turnips. Massage one more time and serve immediately. Variation: slice carrots into thin rounds in place of the turnips. Make sure to slice very thin as they have less water content. Add some of the carrot leaves as well.

Daikon and Daikon Leaf Salad
1 medium-small daikon
1 TB Sea Salt
2 small or 1 medium Yuzu (or substitute Meyer Lemon)
2 TB Organic Miso
2 TB Organic Rice Vinegar
4 TB Organic Rapeseed Oil

2 TB Slivered Scallions
Slice the daikon into manageable lengths.  Cut those pieces in half vertically and slice lengthwise into fine slabs.  Lay those slabs flat on the cutting board and slice into fine julienned strands about 1.5 inches long.  Put the julienned daikon into a medium-sized bowl as you go.  Chop a large handful of the most tender leaves medium -fine and add to the julienned daikon.  Sprinkle with the salt and massage in gently.  Let sit for 10 minutes.  Pare off the yellow zest of a yuzu or meyer lemon with a sharp knife, avoiding the white pith.  Stack roughly and slice into fine slivers.  Muddle the miso with the vinegar and whisk in the oil until emulsified.  Squeeze the daikon and daikon leaves in handfuls and drop into a clean bowl.  Toss with the yuzu peel and onion greens.  Give the dressing a quick whisk and fold into the daikon right before serving.  Ratio: miso:rice vinegar:oil – 1:1:2 

White Russian Kale
Bibb Romaine Lettuce
Mesclun Salad Mix
Red Creole Spring Onions
Hakurei Salad Turnips or Nelson Carrots
Chioggia Beets
Summer Squash

Every May our farm feels like a frenzy of activity and ever increasing energy. Each week there is more to plant, more than is possible and each week a new crop is ready to be harvested. We begin 2 weekly markets, the CSA, and regular deliveries to wholesale accounts at the beginning of May. It is fun to be in the swing of things again; but also a bit overwhelming. This year has been different so far. April was so warm and dry that the crops all seemed to be hitting their stride earlier and we were getting things in at a good pace and for a second it seemed like we might manage to keep things on schedule for the first time. We had basil, tomatoes, and squash going strong. Then two weeks ago the rain began and this Northwest weather arrived and put everything to a halt. Not really everything, but a majority of our planting, as we have crop land not quite ready to plant and now too wet to prepare with a tractor. So two weeks later we are now definitely back to our regular schedule of being just enough behind to keep us a little stressed out. The good news is that we have had time to keep up with other tasks on the farm, such as hand weeding, foliar feeding, hoeing, mowing, crop assessment, and general organization. The bad news is we will have periods of time in the coming month without cut greens, herbs, and other quick crops. We will also be waiting a little longer on padron peppers, cucumbers, and green beans than in past years; but each year has a slightly different rhythm and this overcast weather produces a feeling of calm in the interim.

The erratic weather is also meaning we are a little short on product right now. Some of our crops have slowed down their growth, seemingly waiting for the sun to return, and yet they are just on the cusp of being ready. That being said, we are excited to have some of our earliest outdoor crops of beets and carrots. Remember that dry weather the second half of February and beginning of March, well we were lucky enough to get beets, spinach, and carrots planted March 1^st, 2-3 weeks earlier than usual and voila now they are all coming at you in these early shares. They will be delicious paired with some spring onions, lettuce, greens, and summer squash. Yes that’s right, we will have a very small amount of summer squash for you all and it is the earliest ever, we just couldn’t resist. Please have fun with some of these delicious recipes and enjoy your share…..Brian and Autumn

Shaved Root Vegetable Salad

Halibut with Spring Onion and Summer Squash Sauté

Raw Kale Salad with Creamy Tahini Dressing

Beet-and-Onion Salad with Mint