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Thursday, January 13, 2011

CSA Week 13


The Farmer’s Wife

Week 13


   Hello once again from our mountainous farm…Colvin Family Farm. God continues to bless the farm with occasional showers and the harvest and planting will reflect His all-powerful hand in the coming weeks. We are busy planning and planting for the fall harvest…time has FLOWN by!
    This week leeks make their debut in your share.  Leeks are also known as “poor man’s asparagus”. This must come from their mild sweet flavor. Unlike onions that give an oniony flavor to the dishes they are added to, leeks enhance the flavors of the food they are cooked with.
     My favorite all-time way to eat leeks is a creamy leek and potato soup on a cold snowy day…but it definitely isn’t snowy weather!  If you want them for yummy soup this winter, bury them in a bucket of damp sand keep in a cool (but not freezing) location. A good book to read about this type of storage is, “Root Cellaring” by Mike and Nancy Bubel of Rodale Books. You don’t have to have a real root cellar dug into a bank of earth to store vegetables. This book describes ways to store fruits and vegetables in unconventional ways in an apartment or home. This is a good way to stock up for the cold winter ahead when the farmer’s market is only a memory. This book is an older book, and you could probably find it inexpensively at a used bookstore as I did. We buy most of our books over the Internet using “Fetchbook” or “BookFinder” which are search engines that compare prices of new and used books Internet wide, and lists them for you to compare and buy from. Right now on Bookfinder, this book is listed for $7.63, which includes shipping!
      Because of how leeks are grown, you must clean them thoroughly to remove the grit before using. To clean your leaks, simply remove the green tops to about 2 inches of the white section. Like preparing an onion, peel off the otter layer of white. Cut the leek in half lengthwise and wash thoroughly under running water to remove soil between the layers.
     Leeks can be refrigerated unwashed and dry with roots attached for up to 2 weeks. Wrap them in plastic wrap to avoid sharing their aroma with your other groceries. J
   There are several ways to use leeks, and I plan on expanding my leek usage beyond leek and potato soup! Here are a few ideas for their use I found in From Asparagus to Zucchini, the book we are offering our shareholders for sale this season.
*Leeks may be eaten raw, chopped into a variety of salads.

*Leeks may be cooked whole; try braising or baking.
*Steam or boil leeks for 10-12 minutes. Top with butter, a dash of salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese.
*Layer thin slices of leek in a favorite sandwich. Leek, tomato and melted cheese is a winner.
*Lightly sauté chopped leeks alone or with other vegetables.
*Chop or slice leeks into quiches, egg dishes, casseroles, stews, stocks soups, and stir-fries.
*Substitute leeks for onions in recipes and notice the subtle flavor changes.
*Pure cooked leeks for a soup base.
*Add leek leaves to long-cooking dishes, such as grains, beans, or stews, for added flavor.
*Add cooked leeks to mashed potatoes.

     One recipe I plan on using is mentioned below. There aren’t too many recipes (outside my favorite soups) for leeks. Always remember that we can substitute leeks for any recipe that calls for onions.

Leeks With Wold Rice Corn and Sausage


1 ¼ c. wild rice
2 T. butter
6 oz. Smoked sausage cut into ¼” cubes
1 ¼ c. chopped leeks, white parts only
¾ c. diced (1/4”) carrots
2 c. fresh corn kernels
1 c. long grain white rice (we like Jasmine)
4 t. dried Thyme
1/8 t. cayenne pepper
4 ½ c. chicken stock, plus more if needed

  Cover wild rice in lightly salted, boiling water. Cook 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Drain and reserve. Heat butter in large, deep-sided pan over medium heat until hot. Add sausage, leeks, carrots and corn and cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes. Add wild and white rices, thyme, cayenne, and stock and bring mixture to simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until all liquid has been absorbed., 25-30 minutes. Taste rice and if not quite tender enough, add ½ c. extra stock and cook. Covered about 5 minutes more until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat. Sir in salt to taste. (Rice can be prepared 1 day ahead. Reheat, covered, in 350 degree oven until hot, 15-20 minutes.)
   Since I am prowling for leek recipes, I will mention a few I’ve found that I want to try! These little potato and onion (you could use onions from your shares or even the leeks) baskets look like a fun recipe to make with my daughter Faith Anne (9).  I even have ideas for other fillers instead of onions if the baskets work out nice!

Onion Potato Baskets


3 baking potatoes
3 T. olive oil, divided
½ t. salt
¼ t. pepper
2 c. diced onions
½ c. light cream (I don’t usually keep this on hand, so I may put a bit of milk in some plain yogurt to make a substitute.)
½ c. shredded Swiss Cheese
1 egg, beaten lightly
2 T. chopped parsley
   Coarsely shred peeled potatoes Stir in 2-T. oil, slat and pepper, tossing to coat well. Place 1 ½ T. potato mixture into each of the 12 greased muffin pan cups, pressing into tin to create a crust. (nest) Bake at 425 degrees for 22 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Meanwhile, in large skillet, sauté onion in remaining oil until tender, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add cream; cook 2 to 3 minutes more or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Stir in cheese, egg and parsley. Spoon about 1 T. onion mixture into each potato cup. Reduce oven to 400 degrees; bake 10 to 12 minutes more or until center is set. Serve warm.

Easy Onion and Cheese Quiche


26 soda crackers
¼ c. melted butter
6 slices of bacon
1 c. chopped onion (or leeks)
2 c. shredded Swiss Cheese
2 eggs, slightly beaten
¾ c. sour cream
     Combine crackers and butter and press into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Cook bacon until crisp. Drain and crumble. Save 2 T. drippings to cook onion in. cook onion until tender, about 10 minutes. Combine rest of ingredients with onion and pour into shell. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let set for 10 minutes before serving.

     The boys are planting more snap peas as I type this letter. A thunderstorm is threatening and the harvest of oats and wheat is being put off once again. The heads of these grains must be dry to be cut and threshed…this is tricky business this time of year with storms passing so frequently. (We’re not complaining though! Praise God for the rains!!)
   Farmer Steve just brought in a large bowl of corn…pretty much the total harvest. Sigh…the corn sat at knee to thigh high during the little drought we had and tasseled too soon. We have replanted and anticipate a much larger harvest in September. Then we can all enjoy a good corn boiling! Thank you for your patience..God is in control and we are learning! We are thankful we now have equipment to water if another dry spell sets in.
   We have been enjoying the carrot harvest this year. The boys must, as they keep slipping bags of carrots from the cooler down to me in the farm kitchen! We go through the usual routine of them hiding something behind their backs and saying, “Which hands?” with a sweet smile…then they produce their personal vegetable of choice. Lately it’s been carrots and cabbage. One of farmer Steve’s favorite desserts is carrot cake. It’s extra special when made with REAL farm-fresh carrots!

REAL Farm-Fresh Carrot Cake


3 eggs
2 cups flour, sifted
2 cups sugar
1 ¼ cups vegetable oil (we use canola)
2 tsp. Baking soda
1 tsp. Cinnamon 
1 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cup shredded coconut
1 cup walnuts/pecans chopped
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups REAL RAW FARM-FRESH carrots, shredded

1.      Beat eggs well: then add the next seven ingredients and beat well until smooth.
2.     Stir in the coconut, nuts, pineapple, and carrots with mixing spoon.
3.     Pour into a greased 9 X 13” cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.
4.    When cake is slightly warm, spread with Cream Cheese Frosting. (The same frosting I use on the Zucchini bars from last week.)

Cream Cheese Frosting



      Another way my children have liked carrots over the years is in a raw salad. I like to make raw salads (bean, cucumber or others) to have on hand as a quick side dish for the busy days of summer. I often have dinner (the big meal in the middle of the day) to prepare after a morning of canning or sewing, or gardening, as the men will be off at a market, or harvesting grain at the field we have leased during the cool of the evening. So I can pull these fresh salads from the refrigerator to round out a meal at short notice. We all have busy days, so why not try a few this week? The cold pack pickles recipe from week ____, and this carrot salad are two good ones to start with!

Carrot-Pineapple Salad

1 ½ cup grated raw carrots
½ cup chopped celery (optional)
1 slice pineapple, diced (or use crushed)
1 cup chopped pecans
Mayonnaise
     Blend together the carrots, celery, pineapple, and pecans. Toss with a small amount of mayonnaise and serve.

Variation:
Delete celery and pineapple, and substitute a handful of raisins. We then rename it to “Sunshine Salad”.

Another good variation I use in the fall when we have an abundance of fresh apples is to add equal amounts of grated carrots, grated apple, raisins, nuts, and mayonnaise together for a tarter taste.

     Another week on the farm is coming to a close. I pray you are finding that being a part of our farm this season has been a joy. I know it’s a lot of work too, picking up your shares and taking care of the vegetables for storage. Cooking from scratch as you do (at least in part) also takes time also. Let’s not get caught up in the mentality of this world that everything must be quick. Quality anything takes time! I pray you are enjoying the process and including your family along the way. Praise God along with us for all He provides for our families!

Abundant Blessings,


Your Farmer’s Wife,

Val Colvin



“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die: a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.”
Ecclesiastes 3: 1,2
                                      



CSA Week 12


From the Farmer’s Wife
Week 12

   Greetings from your farm…Colvin Family Farm! Summer days are rolling by faster than ever and talk around the table at mealtime has been of a fall CSA! Summers used to stretch out forever  as a child…summer camp, white water canoe trips, picking tiny wild blueberries, hiking the White Mountains of New Hampshire, swimming,  and sail boating are part of my precious summer memories. School vacations were also long. We got out of school June 3rd, and didn’t go back until the Monday after Labor Day! Now parents are counting the days until school registration. I count my blessings to have my children with me all year long…no it’s not one big vacation; we home school. If any parent would like information on home schooling, just ask.
   Summer on the farm is an intensive time of work. Everyone takes part and we all are learning the lessons of diligence. Farmer Steve had the privilege to have a great teacher in high school that mentored boys through the Future Farmer’s of America club. He often tells us stories and quotes the creed, “I know the joys and discomforts of agricultural life and hold an inborn fondness for those associations which even in hours of discouragement I cannot deny…” So, another generation is being handed the baton of farming…we pray they will be found more responsible than the past two generations were. We are stepping back in time in some ways, but are looking into the future to see the best way to produce fruits and vegetables that truly contain the vitamins and minerals the Lord designed them with. If the soil is continually robbed of nutrients, chemical additives used, then the food produced will not be as the Lord designed…yes, it may look good, but what it contains is more important.  Be careful to choose the vendors at the markets that responsibly farm, or we are not only supporting their practices, we are are robbing ourselves of good health. Don’t hesitate to ask, those who farm responsibly are more than willing to tell you about their methods. They are proud of the extra time and effort they are taking to make their farm sustainable.
    The shares are looking the same now for a few weeks. The lack of rain has taken its toll, BUT crops are starting to liven up again. Seeds that were planted during the dry spell have come up MORE are being planted, and now we all feel encouraged. Thank you for your patience. Knowing that you have committed to take the risk along with us is comforting, but we desire to give you our shareholders an abundant harvest each week.  We now have an emergency water plan in place, so we will be able to water more efficiently if we need it again this year. Plans are in the making for next year that entails drip irrigation. Want to know more about our future dreams/plans? Just ask Adam, Caleb, or Farmer Steve when you pick up your share; they are bubbling with ideas!
   The boys want me to share my recipe this week for Zucchini Bars. We have enjoyed them twice since squash starting to come in. Folks at the church dinner were a bit skeptical of them when I brought them to a special dinner, but then again, they mostly eat out of a box or can. They are always skeptical about what I make…its never mainstream cooking. J When a few brave souls tasted it, they were surprised!

Zucchini Bars
¾ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 ¾ cup flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 cup shredded coconut
2 cups shredded zucchini
½ cup nuts, chopped (I used Pecans.)
1 recipe of Cream Cheese Frosting

  1. Beat butter until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar. Add eggs and beat well. Add vanilla.
  2. Sift together flour and baking powder. Stir into egg mixture. Stir in zucchini, coconut, and nuts. Spread evenly in well greased 10 X 15 X 1 ½” pan. (Use what you’ve got.)
  3. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until a cake tested comes out clean.
  4. Cool, frost, and then cut into bars.  (Now the frosting was an option, but for us is now a must…try them plain if you’d like. I cut way down on the sugar knowing I’ll be frosting them. ) 

Cream Cheese Frosting
4 Tbsp. Butter, softened
3 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla

  1. Beat until smooth. Adjust consistently if needed with a bit of milk.
  2. Spread on COOLED bars. (I put the pan directly in the freezer one time to cool before supper!)

Our zucchini almost succumbed to the dry weather…I don’t know how zucchini ever got the reputation for out producing one’s needs, because we have never had that problem! Most folks will get it this week so I just had to share these two new recipes with ya’ll. If you didn’t get it, and don’t have some frozen or canned, file these recipes because they are both “keepers”. If you can, try these “crab cakes”! (Now you know how I got that odd reputation at church.J)

Poor Man’s Zucchini “Crab Cakes”
1 ½ cup shredded zucchini, patted dry
1 cup bread crumbs (I gave the how-tos to making these in Week 10-June 26,2010 issue of The Farmer’s Wife.)
2 Tbsp. grated onion
2 Tbsp. all purpose flour
1 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tsp. mayonnaise
1 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
2 eggs
Oil for frying (I used lard which is “the healthiest” for frying.)

   Combine all the ingredients. Heat oil for frying them (either deep or onto a griddle) and drop by rounded spoonful onto the griddle (or into the oil, we used the griddle method to avoid overly frying them). Fry until crisp and brown. Serve with either tarter or cocktail sauce.

   We have fields and raised beds in which we grow your food. The raised beds are in the process of being renovated for our fall kitchen garden. We use Mel Bartholomew’s Square Foot Gardening method (see www.squarefootgardening.com) to intensively grow a wide variety of flowers, herbs and vegetables. The soil has become “out of balance” after years of “just adding compost” to amend the soil after each harvest. Now we are mixing the proper balance of soil once again and filling our beds once again with “Mel’s Mix” as described in his books. This is a BIG job, and we will prayerfully be done with it by planting time in August. We are looking forward to using these raised beds once again for our fall kitchen garden. I gave Faith Anne her own 4 X 4’ bed to raise her first real garden in. She has been raising strawberries for two years, but with the gardens becoming a working farm, we’ve stepped back and watched to see where gardening fits in. I think we’ve found our nitch again, and we’re excited. I just can’t use the term gardening around the boys…we like the term, “kitchen garden”…and yes, I’ll share with you if you’d like!
   We’ve also been busy in the farm kitchen. We froze more meals for busy days ahead, froze 10 meals of a broccoli/carrot mixture (that takes a lot of vegetables for us), and helped a friend learn how to use Pamona Pectin in her jelly/jam making. This dry season has been bad for our usual crop of wild blackberries. It reminded me though to tell you of my “find” of Pamona Pectin a few years ago. When I find something this good, I feel compelled to pass it on to friends.  I used to cringed every time I measured out more sugar than fruit to make jams and jellies. Then I read about a 100% citrus pectin called Pamona’s Universal Pectin. Gone are the days of making one batch at a time and buying a “ton” of sugar.  This pectin allows me to make as many batches at one time as I’d like…this can be dangerous unless you have someone else check your math before beginning. Two years ago I was making muscadine jelly when I realized I had used WAY more of the pectin than I should have! Steve had to bring grape juice home from town to rescue me from my mix-up.  Now I have Adam do the math with me and we compare figures. That day I made over 60 pints of Grap-E-Dine jelly at one time! It truly is a time saver! It is also a money saver, and thus a health saver as it uses just a fraction of the amount of sugar, honey, or even no sugar at all using fruit juice as the sugar. It can be bought in small boxes at most health food stores, but I buy it by the pound directly from the cottage industry that produces it. Call 413-772-6816 to contact Workstead Industries directly or buy online at www.canningpantry.com for about the same price.
     As the boys drift in and out of the farm kitchen picking your shares, I have been getting an idea of what is going into your shares this week. Kale is back! We have enjoyed making kale “potato” chips, in stews, salads, and also in this potato salad one amazing shareholder brought to our shareholders day here on the farm. It was tasty and the added color makes it an interesting side dish. It is  taken from the cookbook we are offering this season called, From Asparagus to Zucchini compiled by the Madison Area CSA Coalition (MACSAC). If you’d like a copy, just ask “your farmer” at the market this week!

Kale and Potato Tarragon Salad
2 pounds small “yellow” potatoes, scrubbed
7 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 medium onion (yellow, sweet, or white), diced
1 bunch lacinato kale, large stems removed, leaves chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. white vinegar (I would use cider vinegar, white isn’t a true food.)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
¼-1/2 tsp. tarragon, divided
salt and pepper to taste
   Stem or boil potatoes until fork-tender. Drain, cut into large bite sized pieces, place in a large bowl, and cover to keep warm. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a wide skillet over medium heat. Add onions; sauté until translucent. Add kale and garlic; cook until kale is tender, about 5 minutes more (you can cover pan to help wilt kale). Combine vinegar, lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon dried tarragon, remaining 6 tablespoons olive oil, and salt and pepper. Add kale mixture to potatoes and pour dressing over everything. (It’s important to toss the dressing while the mixture is hot, to soak in the flavors.) Add more salt, pepper, or tarragon if necessary. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 6 servings.

  I like to sit here and gaze out the window at the guys harvesting your shares [editor’s (Adam’s) note: please bear with Momma here—we’ve been reading “Anne of Green Gables” out loud as a family and “lookin’ out the winder” has become “gazed lovingly through the window”]. They are bent over in several different locations in the large field pulling carrots, cutting kale, picking beans, grubbing out potatoes, pulling onions and so on. God is providing for our needs. Rejoice with us for the gift of rain! It was amazing when the rain showed up last Friday. We were sitting on the porch visiting with new friends in our church for a few minutes when we looked up and saw it was raining over the field where the vegetables are growing, BUT not in the yard where the children were happily playing! Our God is AMAZING and answers our prayers sooo specifically sometimes. J We praise his name!
   I have one more recipe for you this week. I’m always looking for fresh ways to use my sprouts. This is a recipe I used to make that I’d forgotten about…it’s fun to reintroduce a dish to my family…some have had it and remember it, while others have never had it and it’s a new experience for them. It calls for sprouts you don’t usually get. Substitute the small sprout mixture with a handful of lentils if you have them for the wheat and alfalfa sprouts.
Cabbage Sprout Salad

1.    Toss Together:
     3 cups coarsely shredded cabbage
     ½ cup wheat sprouts
     ½ cup alfalfa sprouts
2.    Blend together separately with a wire whisk in small bowl and mix into salad:
           ¼ cup mayonnaise
           2 Tbsp. nonfat yogurt (or sour cream)
           2 plus teaspoons apple cider vinegar, to taste
           1 tsp. honey, raw sugar, or fructose
           salt and pepper to taste

    Well, supper is in the works. I’ve got new red potatoes steaming for Grandma’s Potatoes (see last week’s letter) green beans simmering, and chicken on the grill. I need to finish this up so I can slice up a few onions to sauté with mung beans. A hungry crew will soon descend upon my “quiet” kitchen to eat.
   Have a blessed week. Enjoy these fleeting days of summer with your families, for time does fly by quickly. It seems only yesterday I had my older children at home with me introducing them to the joy of gardening…look where it brought us!

Abundant Blessings,
Your Farmer’s Wife,

Val Colvin

“And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”
John 12:23-25
   



 



CSA Week 10

From the Farmer’s Wife
Week 10

  Hello once again from Colvin Family Farm. It’s still dry and hot here and the men are sprawled on the front porch trying to get their gumption up to weed the fields and finish the mowing…some just opted to go berry picking! Ha ha! When it feels like this I think everyone slows down.
   We are still praying for rain. Steve, your farmer, is the song leader/choir director at our church (Victory Baptist Church in Dayton, TN…Please come visit us!) and we sang “There shall be showers of blessing, oh that today they might fall…” We drove through a whopper of a shower on the way home but it only sprinkled here. Steve reminds us that “every good and perfect gift cometh from above”, rain or no rain. We are thankful!

   The farm kitchen has been humming with activity this week. I often cook a month or more of meals to help with busy evenings. So, as we enter canning season along with farming I am busy making 90 plus meals to organize in my new 24.9 cubic foot freezer. How fun!
   The monster squash I mentioned last week in my letter are appearing again. I’ve canned 18 pints for winter meals. I’ve got a new zucchini recipe to try out that uses shredded zucchini and if it’s a hit as it has been predicted, I’ll need to can more. I’ll share it with you after it passes the Colvin crew’s taste test.
   This week we get to add cabbage to your shares. Carrots are shaping up and we hope they’ll be ready soon. They really need water to grow straight, so keep the prayers coming. We are singing rain songs whenever lightening lights the evening sky. Last night as I nursed Charity Rose on my little (5 ft. long) porch off my bedroom there were two kinds of lightening that lit up the sky…a storm was approaching (and then turned) and lightening bugs were flittering around the back yard near the pond. It was a gift from God to see things through a child’s eye.
   I know I’m wearing the topic out, but now you have a new additive to your stir fries…changing the cabbage and possibly adding carrots changes the character of the meal. Have you tried using your bean sprouts in your stir fries yet? Wait until the last few minutes to add them as they need little cooking and you want to preserve their vitamin and mineral content. Some people like to rinse the green “hull” off, but I like the added fiber content. These are the same sprouts you buy in the Chinese section of the grocery store canned. If you need the directions again for stir fries, look at From the Farmer’s Wife week 5.
   I like “casseroles” that can be made up ahead of time and set in the refrigerator for cooking at a later time. This cabbage recipe is good for Sunday dinner. On Saturday we (Caleb and I are on Sunday cooking) put a meal together to pop into the oven before we leave for church. Upon returning home we are greeted by the inviting aroma of a meal ready to eat! That way we really enjoy a day of rest!

Baked Pork Chops With Cabbage
4 pork chops
2 T. lard/canola oil
¼ C. diced onion
1 C. cream of celery soup (I use a white sauce with sautéed celery in it)
½ C. milk
3 medium potatoes, peeled, sliced
5 C. Shredded cabbage
¼ C. Flour
1 ½ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
   Brown chops in hot oil; remove from skillet. Add onion, soup and milk to oil in skillet. Blend; set aside. Starting with potatoes, put alternate layers of potatoes and cabbage into a 2-qt. casserole; sprinkle each layer with flour, salt and pepper; pour soup/seasoned white sauce over each layer. Place chops on top; cover casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 ¼ hours. If you’ll be gone to church like we are longer than 1 ¼ hours, adjust the temperature of your stove to 275 degrees for 2 hours or more.

   There are so many kinds of Cole Slaw, but the only ones I dislike are the store bought variety that shows up too often at church suppers. Why don’t people take the time to cook anymore?! I was discussing this with my niece this week as she is going to teach basic courses at a community college this summer…child safety…basic cooking…house keeping skills, etc. These are the skills all mothers should be passing on to their children! This generation has missed out on these “basic” family life skills because we are too busy running…work, school, ball games, day care, camp, ballet lessons, shopping, Internet carousing, karate lessons, clubs, etc.  Parents, during the “slower” days of summer, consider the next school year. Is your home life peaceful? If not, what is hampering your family’s peace? If you are tired of running, and want to pass on to your children the life skills they will need to succeed learn to say, “No” to the many demands on your family’s time. Make a list of things you’d like to replace the outside activities with…life skills, family read aloud time, tutoring your child yourself,  family game night, etc. Then if you teach them the importance of family meal time, they will be different than most young adults who pick up their meals at the local deli or restaurant or from the frozen food section of the grocery store, when they are on their own. We can rekindle the family fire. 






   This is our basic cabbage slaw that is the mainstay in our farm kitchen. Like many of my recipes it doesn’t call for expensive ingredients that I don’t usually keep in my pantry. This is a fun recipe to do with a child. We don’t use a food processor for most of our cutting jobs, giving us a finished product that also looks homemade.

The Farmer’s Wife Cabbage Slaw
3 cups cabbage
½ cup carrot, shredded
1/8 cup green pepper, chopped (can be optional)

  1. Combine cabbage, carrot, and pepper.
  2. Blend dressing. Stir lightly into vegetable mixture; chill.

Slaw Dressing
½ C. mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. vinegar
½ tsp. prepared mustard (I leave this out.)
1 tsp. celery seed
   Every once in a while I get the urge to make a dish that takes more time…something special for the ones I love. This is one of those special dishes in my eyes…great for company or to satisfy my urge to make a special meal. Unless you are serving 8-10 people, or freezing half for another meal cut the recipe in half.

Farmhouse Stuffed Cabbage

1 head cabbage with large leaves
1 onion, minced
1 lb. ground beef, turkey, or venison
1 cup rice, cooked
1 egg, beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup tomato paste
½ cup water
1 cup cultured sour cream

  1. Remove large outer leaves (8-10) from cabbage and cook in boiling salt water for 3 minutes. Drain.
  2. Brown hamburger and onion together. Stir in cooked rice, egg, salt and pepper.
  3. Separate evenly hamburger rice mixture on cabbage leaves. Roll up and fasten with toothpick. Place in greased baking dish.
  4. Stir together tomato paste, water and sour cream. Then pour over cabbage rolls.
  5. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

    I’ve found a new website that has been an encouragement to me this week. A friend referred me to Homestead Blessings to get a recipe using zucchini that her family loved. On their home page I heard  the West Ladies singing a song entitled “Green Beans in the Garden” . “Yes, there’s green beans in the garden, clean clothes on the line, We’ve  got little barefoot children playin’ beneath the grape vine. The sun is shining bright, and the creek is bubblin’ too, I’ve got a lot to be thankful for and Lord I want to thank you!” Learning to sing this song (just the chorus so far) has helped me to keep my focus on what is right in my life and not to dwell on the difficult and negative. I’d like to encourage you to google Homestead Blessings to hear this song. I pray the website is a blessing to you too. God is ALWAYS good!
   Adam wanted me to give instructions on how to use sprouts again. I know we have a lot of folks that joined after the second week when I spent a lot of time giving advice on their use. So instead of me rewriting the information, I will have him search the old hard drive (a computer died that week) and upload them and other issues of the Farmer’s Wife to our website.
   Last week when the trailer (it goes to Farragut Farmer’s Market) finally got home I was horrified to see the few leftover bags of small sprout mixture (alfalfa, red clover, and radish)! The Ziploc bags had been in the heat for too long and had blown up like little balloons! The sprouts inside were close to mush and definitely inedible! I PRAY your sprouts get to you in MUCH better condition!  We are working on a solution for the summer heat and small sprout problem.  In the meantime, if you pick up your share while running errands, please remember to put a cooler in your car to preserve the freshness and vitamin content of your vegetables. 
   If you’d like to keep the sprouts coming in your shares, “Vote SPROUT” on our website at customer support. We love to hear your comments and read about your experiences! It encourages us to keep going.
  God is good to put special people in our lives at times when we really need their friendship. Carol is one godly lady that God put in my life when I had 3 children 3 years and under! She packed up the children and myself and took us to a weekly Bible study that allowed me to be with adults and learn to dig further in God’s Word. Every time I had a baby, or when we were all sick she would also make us a special meal with her special regional Louisiana recipes. This slaw recipe was so special to me…maybe it was because I didn’t have to make it, but it has held a special place in my mind for years. The only thing I could remember was it took Rice Vinegar…a staple for her, but an “exotic” ingredient for me. Well, I finally broke down and bought some when the cabbage started to head, and called Carol for her recipe. She cooks by feel, so I had to play with my little head of cabbage  (for us it is small) to make a recipe…here is my long awaited Louisiana Slaw.

Louisiana Slaw

1 medium head of cabbage, approximately 6 cups, cut very finely
1/3 shredded onion
½ cup Marukan Seasoned Gourmet Rice Vinegar (found at Bi-Lo)
1 cup canola oil
Salt to taste
Coarse grade pepper, to taste
   Combine finely sliced cabbage and shredded onion in a medium bowl. Sprinkle approximately ½ teaspoon salt and coarse pepper over cabbage mixture; mix. In a small bowl combine oil and rice vinegar. Combine oil and vinegar dressing over cabbage. Stir. Let marinate in the refrigerator at least one hour. ENJOY! 
   As usual our favorite way to eat cabbage is simply steamed with a pad of butter on it. This is one of farmer Steve’s favorite vegetables, and he likes things simple. Again, we have waterless cookware, so adjust the amount of water needed to steam your cabbage. Do not soak your vegetables in water to cook them. This makes great vegetable broth for soups, but I’d rather eat the vitamins in the vegetables!
Steamed Cabbage

Cabbage, chopped
Water
Butter to season
               Put chopped cabbage and needed water (start with 1”) in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat and cook, covered, approximately 5 minutes or until tender crisp. Serve with a pad of butter to season.
   I just found out that you will be receiving a share of new carrots this week! How exciting! I have really enjoyed the samples they’ve pulled to gauge the size of the crop over the past few weeks. I’ve been grating them over our salads and in my salad wraps. Home grown carrots have such a distinctively unique taste that I would hate to cover it up with fancy sauces and spices. Enjoy their just pulled from the earth, farm fresh taste!
                                                                     


 Steamed Carrots
Bring about 1 inch of water to a boil. Add 4 c. sliced carrots and 1 tsp. salt. Return to a boil and simmer, covered approximately 10 minutes or to your desired tenderness. Serve with butter if desired.

   Tonight with supper we had carrot sticks along with our meal. Little Levi (4) eats them by the handful! I like to have these in the refrigerator when available for quick snacks. Children can learn to enjoy fruit and vegetable snacks instead of sugary or salty ones. When cucumbers ripen I’ll keep cucumber wedges for snacks also…then soon following that are cherry tomatoes. (I don’t have to even keep these in the kitchen…they eat them off the vine!) These are child-friendly snacks at their very best!
   We are growing some things in our gardens that are new to even me. (Not that I’m an expert with vegetables…) In my second garden I grew fennel…disliked the licorice taste, never learned to use it, and never grew it again. Today (Friday morning) a fennel bulb with its beautiful fronds appeared on my hutch. I knew I was about to learn about it whether I wanted to or not… “Mom, include a fennel cookie, Okay?”  was discussed at breakfast. Fennel cookies?? Now I’ve done some research on fennel..not one good fennel cookie recipe to be found. One reviewed got zero stars and the second got a whopping, iffy  three!!  The reviewer said, “Great if you like fennel. I would add something to make it a bit more moist as my dough was very dry and hard to ball-up. Will make again for a few special friends that like that strong taste but it's sure not for everyone.” Cookies also call for the seed, we are harvesting the fennel bulb and herb. So, let’s learn together!
     “Fennel’s history is as rich as its flavor!  For centuries fennel has been used as a food, medicine, herb, and even a insect repellant! In ancient Greece, fennel was used in religious ceremonies. Grown in the temple gardens, it graced the heads of the worshippers. The ancient Egyptians, greeks, and Romans believed fennel an excellent aid for digestion, bronchial troubles, poor eyesight, and nervous conditions. Today in India, fennel seed is used for seasoning as well as chewed after the meal as a breath freshener and digestive aid. Nutritionally, fennel is very low in calories, but offers significant vitiamin A and calcium, potassium, and iron.” From asparagus to Zucchini p.78 An ancient recipe from Spencers The Vegetable Book sounds very interesting. Columella, a Spainaiard who served in the Roman army in Syria in AD 60 is quoted as saying, “Mix fennel with toasted sesame, anise, and cumin then mix that with pureed dried fig and wrap in fig leaves and then store in jars to preserve.” Now that sounds interesting!
Storage for Fennel:
  Store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to two weeks..  If space is a problem, remove the long fronds to store just he fennel bulb. If you are saving the delicate leaves, they will go limp. Wrap them in a moist towel and refrigerate.
   Some Ideas For Use:
·         Wash fennel bulb, trimming off any damaged areas or woody parts of the stalk.
·         Use in any recipe that calls for celery. They are interchangeable.
·         Sprinkle chopped fennel leaves on hot baked potatoes.
·         Add cooked fennel to omelets, quiches, stuffings, or sauces.
·         Add stalks to stocks to for their flavor.
·         Cook fennel in your favorite tomato sauce.
·         Place stalks and leaves on barbeque coals as they do in France. The fennel scent permeates the grilled food.
·         Slice steamed or blanched fennel, cover with vinaigrette and serve chilled.
·         Chop raw fennel and add to tuna fish sandwiches.
·         Slice fennel thin and layer iwith raw potatoes, cream and cheese to make a potato au gratin.
·         Try using the feathery leaves as fresh herb for seasoning. Try using it in place of dill.
·         They say it is excellent on baked or broiled fish with butter and lemon…we’ll soon find out!
   Since becoming a full-time farmer’s wife I am committed to learning to use the vegetables we grow. So after research, this is what we’ll be trying this week.
Roasted Fennel
2 fennel bulbs (thick base of stalk), stalks cut off, bulbs sliced
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rub just enough olive oil over the fennel to coat. Sprinkle on some balsamic vinegar, also to coat. Line baking dish with aluminum foil. Lay out piece of fennel and roast for 15-20 minutes, until the fennel is cooked through and beginning to caramelize. Serves 4
Greek Burgers   *****
1 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 pounds ground lamb
¼ cup bread crumbs
1 bulb fennel, chipped
3 tablespoons shallots, minced (I’ll substitute green onions.)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
ground black pepper to taste
8 hamburger buns
   In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise and minced garlic. Cover, and regfrigerate for at least 2 hours. Preheat grill for high heat. Mix together lamb, bread crumbs, fennel, shallots, oregano, and salt. Form into ¾ inch thick patties, and sprinkle black pepper over surfaces. Brush grate with oil, and place burgers on grill. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes per side, turning once, or until done. Serve on buns with garlic mayonnaise.
Baked Rigatoni with Italian Sausage and Fennel ****1/2
1 pound hot Italian sausage links
1 16 oz. package rigatoni pasta
1 24 oz.  jar marinara sauce (I’ll do an online search for a recipe.)
1 bulb fennel, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 roasted red bell pepper, chopped
½ yellow onion, chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup grated Asiago cheese (What’s that?? I guess I’ll learn about that also.)
1.     Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until almost tender, about 10 minutes.
2.     2. Fry the sausages in a large skillet over medium heat, turning frequently until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove from the skillet, cool slightly and slice into rounds. Add the garlic, fennel and onion to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes, then add the roasted red peppers, basil, sliced sausage and pastea sauce. Heat through over low heat until warmed.
3.     Combinethe pasta with the sauce and vegetables in a 9 X 13 inch baking dish. Spread the mozzarella, Parmesand and Asiago cheeses over the top. Garnish with a few fennel leaves left from the bulb. Cover with aluminum foil.
4.     Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, then remove the aluminum foil. Set the oven to broil and cook for another 5 minutes or until cheese is browned.
Simple Marinara Sauce

  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 Tbs[/ basil garlic olive oil (see recipe for this below)
  • 5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • 2 (28 oz) cans diced tomatoes in juices
  • 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley or basil (or both)
  1. Saute the onions in olive oil until soft, about 7 minutes.
  2. Add the garlic and saute for another 1-2 minutes.
  3. Add the Italian seasoning and cook for another minute.
  4. Add the tomato products and the parsley and/or basil. Let simmer for 1 - 1 1/2 hours.
  5. When finished simmering, puree with immersion blender until smooth - if desired.
Basil Garlic Olive Oil
1.      Cut a head of garlic in half lengthwise. Rub a small amount of olive oil on the top and bottom and wrap the package in aluminum foil. Place the whole business in a 350F oven for approximately 30 minutes.
2.     You can certainly wait for the garlic to cool down to prevent burning your finger tips, but it is much easier to pry the roasted cloves from the head when it is piping hot before all the stickiness solidifies and makes a gooey mess of everything.
3.     Empty the roasted garlic into a mortar. I like to use my mortar and pestle in this application because it insures complete destruction of the cell walls and ergo the release of all the essential oils in the garlic cloves. A small bowl or glass and a heavy spoon or bread knife would make a good substitute in a pinch.
4.     Grind into a paste. Once the garlic has been sufficiently massacred add it to chopped basil and volume of oil you hope to infuse. Bring the sauce pan to a low simmer over medium-low heat. Try to keep the temperature even and on the stove for at least 30 minutes. If you are using less-than-stellar cookware this *WILL* require supervision and flame adjustment up and down - trust me it'll all be worth it in the end...
5.     Now let your new secret ingredient cool off and start thinking about enhancing a tried and true recipe or just pull out a baguette and top liberally. YUM!
  This recipe sounds like one I should do on a slower day, not on picking and packing day!
   Here is a recipe to store for a while until the cucumbers come in.
Fennel Cucumber Salsa *****
2 medium cucumbers
1 large fennel bulb, diced
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced
½ red onion, chopped
½ cup pickled banana peppers, diced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
   Combine the cucumber, fennel, avocado, red onion, banana peppers, cilantro, honey, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl. Allow mixture to sit 30 minutes before serving.

   Well, our week is winding down I’ve been canning, mending, (Six pairs of overalls and jeans now have patches…where else?...on their knees from weeding and harvesting!) growing sprouts for your shares, and cooking large batches of meals for the freezer. Praise God there is never a dull moment around the farm! I pray you and your family will enjoy your shares together. Please keep praying for rain, it is sorely needed.


“And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:9
                                    

Abundant Blessings,
Your Farmer’s Wife,
Val Colvin