The Pizza Oven

 I arrived just in time! The last harvest pizza was headed into the earthen oven and there was still a slice of warm vegetable pizza left. One of Stoney Lonesome's new perks is the earthen oven that was built earlier in the season. Impromptu pizza parties are held after harvest is in with  whatever ingredients are fresh from the fields. Intern Sophie is in charge of the crust and with fresh picked produce no two pizzas are the same.
 Even Jesse's farm fresh eggs are pressed into service and interesting combinations are bound to appear. What a treat!

 What is on today's pizza?

Expanding

You never know what they will be up to at Stoney Lonesome - last year was the big push for the Future Field which this year is providing us with almost all of our veggies.This past week I was super excited to see in action and to hear about the expansion of raised beds for herbs, one of my favorite things. Raised beds will meander on up the hill near the distribution shed growing all kinds of herbs. Right now they hold small perennial plants which need some time for growth before being transplanted into the bigger fields where they need they will grow hearty and expand bringing with them seasons of fresh herbs to complement any meal. That's the plan anyway...

I spy oregano and thyme and rosemary

Squash and zucchini are in and multiplying rapidly. How do you stay on top of all of these green and yellow orbs? We like to stuff ours with quinoa or rice and whatever other vegetables happen to be on hand. A Greek friend of mine gave me this Mediterranean recipe many years ago and I break it out every summer during zucchini time.

Stuffed vegetables

Slice lengthwise and hollow out the insides of yellow or green squash, eggplant or cut the tops off and hollow out the insides of tomatoes and peppers. Toss seeds and dice up the "meat" of the vegetable.

Prepare quinoa or rice using one cup of grain to two cups of water.

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil, adding diced vegetable from the insides of the squash or other vegs. Add fresh herbs of your choice. When soft, add the cooked grains, salt and pepper if desired. I also like to throw in a little feta cheese or put some mozzarella or parmesan on at the last minute and throw under the broiler.

Stuff the insides of the hollowed out vegetables and place in a oven safe cooking dish. If you are doing a lot, use a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil so that there is some on each vegetable and some in the pan. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Serve with a cool refreshing fruit salad with fresh mint on top.

Any leftover grain/veg mix can be baked in a slightly greased casserole dish for a later meal or can be frozen for later use. I have found success in freezing stuffed cooked vegetables - except for the tomatoes.

 A good way to use up loads of vegetables. Bon Apetit!

 Pretty swiss chard is always good in the above recipe too.

 

 Coming soon to a field near you - 

Pumpkins

  and onion plants

Fresh Herbs

Cilantro

I love nothing better than the smell of fresh herbs....unless it's the taste of fresh herbs or perhaps the versatility of fresh herbs. In any event we have lots of fresh herbs coming our way if these pictures have any stories to tell. Looks like the cilantro has a side of stray basil in its corner. Cilantro is great for use in making fresh guacamole. or on fish tacos - along with some grilled fish, and shredded cabbage.

Dill

Fluffy fronds of dill are super aromatic. Dill always works in a cucumber salad or when making pickles. It is also good in vegetable dips.

Fennel

Fennel, as a cousin of dill, is often considered an herb, at least that is how to use the licorice tasting  fronds. The entire plant is edible and is often paired with fish .

Parsley is a great breath freshener and an accent to any kind of cooking. It's mild flavor complements both meat and vegetables. Use it to make salad dressing and marinade for the grill.

Parsley

Basil

Basil is a favorite from the herb family. Pesto is only one of its possibilities. The hearty flavor of basil works well with anything tomato, and is popular with many Italian dishes.

Aside from complementing recipes with fresh herbs, they are more often than not preserved in any manner of ways. Preserving by drying is probably the simplest and cheapest way to have herbs year round. But  you can also preserve most herbs by using Kosher salt, or by freezing. I use the salt method for my smaller herbs like oregano and thyme. They are also excellent infused in oil or in vinegars and the possibilities are endless when making fresh salad dressings. Flavored olive oil bars are popping up all over - we recently enjoyed one at a wedding and the flavors were intense and so delicious paired with crusty bits of bread. It was such a fun party idea.

Flavored olive oils at a party

Serve with crusty bread or mix and match with flavored vinegars.

Of course within each herb family there are hundreds of varieties of individual herbs. Experiment, experiment - use your google tool to find more specific information along with recipes for each herb. This season at Stoney Lonesome you can find Basil, Cilantro, Dill, Parsley, Oregano, Thyme and Rosemary. 

This recipe was in a recent issue of the magazine Everyday Food - Herb Sugars

In a food processor combine 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup fresh herbs such as basil, mint, or cilantro. Pulse until herbs are finely ground and mixture is well combined. Use sprinkled on fruit salad, to rim cocktail glasses or stir into iced tea and/or lemonade. Doesn't that sound delicious?

How do you use your fresh herbs?

A mixed bouquet ready for packing

Survival of the Fittest

Another fine harvest day at Stoney Lonesome Farm. Pablo said this harvest would have to be for the love of farming but we were all pleasantly surprised by how well the fields are doing. It looks like some of the cucumbers and the broccoli took a hit

from the heat but here's hope for the future - lovely rows of growing and blossoming vegetables and herbs.

Ready or not, here come the zucchini

 

And flowers - their cheery faces welcoming us to the fields and cheering us on in the heat.

  Even the new cob oven looks inviting and ready to throw on a pizza or two - at least that is how it is calling me.

And as always the harvest helpers and interns are busy readying our shares for the week. Thanks guys!

Garlic

It's garlic time at Stoney Lonesome! The stalks are ready to be harvested,cured and dried and we are the lucky recipients of fresh garlic in our shares. This summer four kinds of garlic have been planted at Stoney Lonesome Farm and they include - Inchelium Red, German Garlic, Chesnok Garlic and Music.

There are thousands of different types of garlic but all fall under two categories hardneck and softneck.  Hardneck varieties produce a flower stalk called a scape.  The scapes can be harvested and eaten in a number of ways; they are delicious! Hardneck varieties generally do not store as well as other varieties and may start to dry out or form roots and sprouts within a few months of harvest. Softneck varieties do not produce a seed stalk.  This is the type of garlic that you most often find in the grocery stores. Softneck garlic has much longer shelf life than the hardneck varieties.

Other Garlic Fun Facts:

• Ancient Greek athletes gobbled garlic before Olympic games for stamina. Modern-day studies prove them correct.
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• The largest producer of garlic is China - accounting for 77% of the worlds production.
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• The only US state that does not produce garlic is......... Alaska. The US is number 6 in production producing 1.4% of the world's garlic.
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• Garlic is often paired with its cousin the onion, as well as tomatoes and ginger. It is delicious on bread, pasta and alongside most vegetables
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• Garlic cloves can be preserved in vinegar and wine in the refrigerator. It is often infused in oil. Caution is advised in home produced oils as long term storage of the cloves in oil can lead to botulism.
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• Garlic is mentioned in the Bible and the Talmud and is used both for culinary and medicinal purposes.
• 
  
• (Most fun facts came from Wikipedia and are subject to  "Wikipedia - isms"

The past week (Week 3: 6/17 & 20) our shares included the garlic type known as Inchelium Red:  (artichoke softneck variety)  It is a large bulbed vigorous strain with several layers of cloves.  In a 1990 taste test at Rodale kitchens this was a top rated softneck.  Discovered on the Colville Indian Reservation, original source unknown.  It has a mild but lingering flavor with a tingle.  It can be used for making garlic braids. It has four or five layers of cloves with 8 to 20 total cloves possible per bulb.

There are recipes for garlic across the internet and in all cookbooks. I suggest you whip up a batch of the delicious recipe provided in your newsletter for roasted garlic.Love it on bread or in mashed potatoes. Member Andi Dorlester provided this recipe which uses garlic as well as the chard and greens from our week 3 share.
 

Pepper-Flecked Potato-Lentil Medley

 

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

1 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced

2 large cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped or minced

 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

generous pinch crushed red pepper flakes

1 1/2 cups brown lentils

3 cups water

12 small (about 1 1/4 pounds) new potatoes, well-scrubbed

2 large carrots, sliced

1-2 Tbsp spicy brown mustard, preferably coarse-grained

1/2 tsp salt

freshly ground black pepper

3/4 pound quick-cooking greens (spinach, chard, beet greens, etc.), trimmed and finely chopped

 

Heat oil in heavy, 3-quart saucepan. Saute red bell pepper and garlic for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in oregano, crushed red pepper, and lentils. Add the water, potatoes and carrots. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered until the lentils and potatoes are tender, about 35-40 minutes. Stir in the mustard, salt, pepper, and greens and simmer until the greens are cooked, about 3 minutes.

 

Enjoy! - thanks for sharing with us - Andi

 Don't forget to put the Garlic Festival on your calendar - 

July 1 at Stoney Lonesome Farm

Coming soon - Herbs at Stoney Lonesome

 

 

Around the Farm and It's Here...Season 9

At last, the wait for those first shares of spring are more than just hoped for; they are ours to pick up and enjoy! And so for the next 22 weeks we'll all adventure through the pickings of delicious, organic, FRESH fruits, herbs, and vegetables.

This week we'll adventure around the farm to see what's growing. As always if you have ideas or recipes or suggestions you'd like to share, please email CSAfarmgirl@gmail.com and I'll be happy to include it in the next blog. That email will only reach the blog writers though so please use the website or other emails to reach Pablo and Esther.

A few ideas for this week's share:

Beet greens - Saute lightly in a tiny bit of olive oil and add a few rounds of baked goat cheese - SOOO good
Garlic scapes - making pesto? add some of the peas (from out of the pods of course) This helps to make a really mild pesto that is delicious on vegetables or pasta or grilled anything and is appreciated by the "kids" who prefer less of a "bite"
Radishes - did you know that radishes are really good with black beans? I am not a fan of radishes and was looking for some way other than raw in a salad and stumbled across this idea in Vegetarian magazine. I just used them as a garnish but I loved the combination of bean and perky radish. Next time I will add more and combine it with rice.
Bok Choi or was it pac choi this week? Used interchangeably it really won't matter but there is a delicious dressing call Mandarin Ginger PoppySeed (Harris Teeter brand) that made an awesome sauce for the sauted bok choi. I found this recipe in Vegetarian Magazine that tastes very similar if you prefer the freshest way.



Baby Bok Choi in Marmalade Sauce

1/4 c orange marmalade
2 TBSP low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp cornstarch
2 Tbs veg oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and julienned
1 lb bok choi, cut into 1 inch lengths
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
1/2 cup toasted cashews

Whisk together marmalade, soy sauce, cornstarch and 2 tbsp water in small bowl. Set aside
Heat wok over high heat. Add oil, then garlic and ginger. Stir fry two minutes
Add bok choi and stir fry two minutes or until bok choi begins to soften. Add pepper flakes and marmalade sauce and cook about 2 minutes more or until sauce thickens. Garnish with cashews.
Optional: Add 2 cups tofu cubes after the garlic and ginger. Stir fry for 3 minutes. Continue recipe at bok choi.

Around the Farm

 Join us on Sunday for the Earthen Oven Workshop

Check out the website for details

 http://www.slfarm.us

 Last summer we fondly referred to this field as "Future Field" This summer welcome to the bottom land. Come visit to see all of the beautiful rows of vegetables and 

get excited about what is coming soon to your table.

 Next shares may include:

 Wait! There's more?

 Even the bees are busy helping

Spring Has Arrived and Summer is Close Behind

At Stoney Lonesome that means that Harvest Days are soon to begin. Just to wet your whistle, let's talk about strawberries. Strawberries are a new crop at Stoney Lonesome this year and have been plentiful over the last few weeks. Hopefully many of you were able to take advantage of the invitation to join us for strawberry picking a few weeks ago; luscious, sweet, plump, juicy berries ready to eat plain or process into a variety of treats.

While there is nothing better than tasting the freshness of a just picked berry, the ideas for sweet strawberry temptations doesn't stop there.

For breakfast try them in a smoothie or on top of some yogurt with a drizzle of honey and a spoonful of granola, or bake some strawberry oatmeal muffins. If you are really adventurous and the strawberries are plentiful, make freezer jam to spread over scones or toast. (See below - I used a variety of size jars)

3 qts of berries = 4pts of Strawberry jam

For lunch, try a strawberry salad. Just cut up some fresh strawberries (or leave tiny ones whole), crumble a little feta cheese and add some fresh mint leaves. Delicious on its own or on top of a plate of fresh spinach.

And of course the same is true for dinner. Try a fresh strawberry salsa on top of a grilled chicken breast or alongside a balsamic marinated pork chop. And what is dinner without a small sweet treat at the end. Perhaps you'd like a strawberry sauce on a scoop of ice cream, or strawberries and cream, or the classic strawberry shortcake, or my personal favorite strawberry rhubarb cake with whipped cream.

I am looking forward to harvest days and seeing what other new surprises 

Pablo and Esther have in store for us. Bon Appetit