Notes From the Farm

The past week has been spent prepping the soil for planting, seeding carrots, beets, and beans, transplanting winter squashes, weeding and mulching. June is the month for doing a little bit of everything all day long. The few days of hot weather was a boon for many of the plants. It was fun to walk around the farm and see how much everything had grown with the heat! Now with cooler weather in the forecast we will concentrate on getting the rest of the seedlings in the ground and continue taking out some of the bigger weeds in the garlic field.

At the end of this blog you will see that I added a few recipes. That happens when I have a few extra minutes. The garlic ginger pok choi just looked too yummy not to share. We will be making that this week! The strawberry rhubarb recipe is from my all time favorite blog, Smitten Kitchen. Deb Perelman, the creator of the Smitten Kitchen, is one hilarious foodie and a damn good writer! I spent a good portion of 2020 reading her blog; trying new recipes and now I can actually say that I LIKE to cook.

This Week’s Veggie Feast

Pok Choi, Salad mix, Culinary Sage, Rhubarb and Asparagus

New This Week

Pok Choi’s tender, almost succulent leaves and crunchy stem make it a winner for sautees. This veggie is a type of Chinese cabbage and is popular is east and southeast Asian cuisine. Pok choi is also know as Poc choi, bok choi, bok choy, poc choy…. you get the idea.

The lettuce mix is mainly buttercrunch (one of our favorite) and red deer tongue. Tender and so delicious! If you want the lettuce mix to last longer in the fridge we recommend running it through a salad spinner, or setting the leaves out on a clean towel so the excess water can evaporate.

Culinary Sage is a woody perennial that is commonly used to flavor poultry, seafood and other meats, as well as pasta dishes.  It also pairs well with other spices such as oregano, thyme, parsley and garlic.  Fresh sage leaves will have a brighter, lighter flavor than dried sage, and should be added to at the end of the cooking process so to retain it’s flavor.  You can also dry the sage for future use.

Rhubarb is one of the foods that speaks to us of early summer. This tangy vegetable (desperately needing sugar to be palatable for most of us) is often paired with fruits and used in pies, crumbles and sauces.

Recipes

GARLIC GINGER BOK CHOY

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp avocado oil
• 4 baby bok choy sliced in half
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 2 tbsp water
• salt and pepper

Instructions

• Heat the avocado oil in a wok or sauté pan on medium. 
• Add the minced ginger and minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds.
• Add the bok choy and use tongs to turn and stir fry the bok choy in the garlic and ginger for 2 minutes.
• Pour two tablespoons of water into the pan, cover and let cook for 2 minutes more.
• Turn off the heat, add salt and pepper and serve. 

Source: Downshiftology

STRAWBERRY RHUBARB CRISP BARS

Ingredients

1 cup (80 grams) rolled oats
3/4 cup (95 grams) plus up to 2 tablespoons (15 grams) extra all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (95 grams) light brown sugar
Heaped 1/4 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional, but helps firm up the filling)
1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice
1 tablespoon (15 grams) granulated sugar, divided
1 cup (125 grams) small-diced rhubarb (from about 1 1/2 medium stalks)
1 cup (155 grams) small-diced strawberries
Powdered sugar, for decoration, if desired

Instructions

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. For easy removal, line bottom and two sides of 8-by-8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. No need to bother (and no greasing needed) if you plan to serve them right in the pan, as I did.

Place oats, 3/4 cup flour, brown sugar and salt in bottom of baking pan and mix. Pour melted butter over, and stir until clumps form. If the clumps feel soft or look overly damp, add the remaining 2 tablespoons flour. Set aside 1/2 cup of the crumble mixture. Press the rest of the crumb mixture evenly in the bottom of the pan.

Spread half the fruit over the crust. Sprinkle it evenly with cornstarch, then lemon juice, and 1/2 tablespoon of granulated sugar. Spread remaining fruit over this, and top with second 1/2 tablespoon sugar. Scatter reserved crumbs over fruit and bake bars for 30 to 40 minutes (firmer fruits will take longer), until fruit is bubbly and crisp portion is golden and smells toasty and amazing.

Let cool in pan; I do this in the fridge, where they become crisp once chilled (less so at room temperature). Cut into squares and sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving. Store leftovers in fridge.

Source: Smitten Kitchen