Now that I’ve got it, what do I do with it?

Hello all,

The newsletter this week will focus on a couple of recipes for all your fresh produce.

Kale Chips

Kale chips are apparently all the rage. Who knew?! A quick search of “kale chips” finds recipes all over the place, from Whole Foods to Williams and Sonoma. This is the basic recipe, give it a try, and then see if you want to get adventuresome and try some of the flavorings. Some suggestions: vinegar and sea salt, seasoned salt, hot pepper flakes, nacho flavoring, cheese powder, garlic salt, etc…

Ingredients:

1 bunch kale

Oil (we used olive oil)

Salt or flavorings (optional)

Cut the stem and midrib out of the leaves and discard. Tear leaves into chip sized pieces (about 2 inches). Wash and dry well. If you have a salad spinner use that, otherwise lay the pieces on a towel and either blot dry or let air dry. The secret to success is to have the pieces completely dry.



Kale pieces, ready to dry



Put some oil in a bowl and add leaves. Mix well until all surfaces are covered, it’s more fun to use your hands! The leaves will look a little bruised. You can either add your seasonings now or after cooking. Be sparing with the salt-the leaves will shrink and only need a little bit.



Kale and oil



Put on a baking sheet in a SINGLE LAYER. I lined it with aluminum foil, and the residual oil was enough to keep it from sticking. Bake at 200-250^o F for about 20-25 minutes. Keep an eye on it-this time can vary widely. It is done when it is very crispy, but not browned. Some of us (me) liked it really crispy; others (the MiniFarmer) liked it a little softer. Either way it is addictive.

Once you get the hang of it, do a search for recipes for other toppings. Next to try: powdered white cheddar popcorn cheese. Or maybe parmesan and garlic salt….

The finished product

Mizuna and Kielbasa pasta:

Mizuna is a Japanese mustard green. It pairs well with spicy meats such as kielbasa. Other types of meat, such as ham or sausage, could be substituted in this recipe.

Ingredients:

Kielbasa

Mizuna

Pasta (any type)

Green garlic

Olive oil

Salt/pepper to taste

Cheese (optional)

Kielbasa, green garlic, mizuna

Wash/drain mizuna and chop into pieces about 1 inch long. Set aside. 

 

Cook pasta and drain. Put in a large bowl.

Cook Kielbasa in olive oil until warm. If you like it crispy, go ahead and crisp it.

When it is done, turn down heat, mince green garlic (make sure to remove any woody inner stalk if present) and add to oil. Cook for a few minutes on low heat until garlic is soft. Don't let garlic burn or it will be bitter.



Note woody inner stalk removed on garlic slice on the bottom left, still there on the upper right slice



Minced garlic



Add mizuna and stir to coat with the garlic flavored olive oil. The mizuna will shrink drastically.

Mizuna after shrinking

If you like your stems to be crispy pour the oil, kielbasa, garlic, and mizuna mixture over the pasta after only a few minutes. If you want them somewhat softer, continue to cook, continuously stirring, until it is the texture you prefer, then add to pasta.

Mix to coat the pasta. Add salt and/or pepper to taste. Add cheese if desired.

Serve warm.

This would also be good with the stir-fry sauce recipe listed on our webpage

 And in closing, some shots of things to come:

Butterhead lettuce

Bean patch

Pea pods

Till next time,

Jeff and Sandra

Hello all,

The potatoes are flowering!  This is a sign that new potatoes will be ready in about a month. We can’t wait. We grew All blue and Yukon Gold this year, so get ready for some blue and yellow potatoes in just a few weeks.

The potato patch

Pretty flowers

Speaking of potatoes, we are sorry to say the potatoes-in-hay experiment was a flop. Only a few potatoes ever sprouted, the rest rotted in the moist compost and hay. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.  We ended up uncovering one half and (literally) throwing some lettuce seeds in. Boy, do they like a rich, moist environment! You’ll be seeing them in the salad mixes soon.

Speaking of lettuces, the intercropped lettuce in the bok choy has really taken off. Just to compare

Last week



This week

 You will be seeing the purple bok choy in your baskets this week. The green bok choy has started to flower and will be in the stir fry mix one last time this week.
The wildlife is really getting the upper hand here on the minifarm! Last week was the snake, this week is the hornets nest-hidden between the boards of the fence. Unfortunately, it is right next to the gate we use to go in and out of this garden area so it must go.



Pretty impressive

        

We’ve gotten feedback from some of you that some recipes would be really handy! So, click on over to our recipe page. Here is one for the lemon mint:

Lemon mint syrup:

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

Lemon mint leaves

Dissolve the sugar in the water over a low heat. Bring to a boil for three minutes, then remove from the heat. Bruise the mint leaves (smoosh them up in a plastic baggie) and add the leaves to the sugar water. Let the leaves steep in the sugar water until cool. Strain the leaves out and put the syrup in a container and store in the refrigerator. Use for teas, lemonades, etc.

Until next week,

Jeff and Sandra

All sprouted and nowhere to go…..

As the weather gets warmer and we are getting the warm weather plants into the ground, we find that real estate is at a premium.  Early spring produce has matured-most will get their last pickings over the next couple of weeks-but their summer replacements are waiting to get into the ground.  We have started intercropping the various areas. Intercropping is where you intensely plant plants that either get along or even compliment each other. This makes good use of all areas that are available for growing. As you can see below, where there is a space to plant…in the ground they go!



      A couple of Yukon Gold potatoes in with the chives



Lettuce and purple bok choy sharing the same area

Other produce get an area all to themselves.  The beans seeds have been planted and are sprouting very nicely…..

And the peas are reaching skyward and have their long awaited flowers coming….

            

Sadly, we are seeing the end to the spinach, asparagus, and strawberries. With the warmer temperatures they are coming to the end of their season. We will keep them coming as long as they are producing. However, we have good things planed to take their places!

With spring there comes the returning of the snakes.  Today I had to do away with a black racer.  I know that they are not poisonous and in fact helpful in keeping the rodent population down, however they have a fond taste for chicken eggs (or any other type of eggs) and once they find a source for these eggs (which he had by my decrease in daily eggs numbers)…they keep coming back for more! So I had to make a decision…protect one of God’s creatures or protect your eggs….I sure that you are in support my decision!

Well the weather guessers were right in their calling for rain today and tonight and this will be a great boost for the plants. I am sure it will be nice and green in the morning when I go to pick….

Till next time,

Jeff & Sandra  

The greening of the garden….

Even thought this planet is referred to as the “Blue Marble”, here on the MinFarm the color of the day is green, so very many shades of it.  In the photo below you can see the range of greens from just one small area of the “leaf plot”.

  Clockwise starting bottom left: Purple cabbage, bok choi, salad bowl lettuce, radishes, spinach, green cabbage. In the background to the left is a whole bunch of leeks. Ignore the weeds.

The plants are taking advantage of the warm days and cool nights.  The sun has not shown much but this does not seem to be hampering plant (and more so weed) growth.  We are starting the transition from planting to maintenance of the spring crops, and starting to plant warm weather plants. Beans are in the ground, and we are still waiting for reliably warm weather for the herbs, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and cucumbers.  These vegetables require temperatures above 50 degrees at night. Looking into the weather crystal ball, I see that we have a few nights ahead that will dip well into the mid 40s…. I will have bring this up with my consultant to see how much this will affect the plants.

Also we have started a new crop that we have not grown before.  Below you will see what looks like a bucket of vines. This is a bunch of sweet potato slips, started from some locally sourced tubers. We will try our hands with them and see how they grow.  If they do well, next year we may add sweet potatoes to our produce list.

They’re a vine, right? (Actually, they're related to the morning glory). Up the fence they go!

Well, I hear the chickens out back making their morning ruckus. They want out of their roost and into the pasture to tackle any non-suspecting bugs. We will see those of you in the spring season this week with your deliveries.

Till next time…..

Jeff & Sandra

Just one more week….

With the official start of the spring season starting next week panic mode is setting in.  Thoughts like...Will this plant stop growing so that it can be used next week? Or will this plant grow more to allow us to use it in the first week of deliveries?  It has been long days of working and weeding to make sure that all is perfect for your first delivery of produce.

Today, the last of the succession planting of radishes have gone into the ground so that is it on the planting of the spring crops. With tilled areas quickly running out of space, the remainder of the kohlrabi found a new home to call their own (for now).

So now we have all the summer plants, the bean, tomatoes, peppers just to name a few standing in the wings to wait their time to get in the ground.  It is hard to believe that in a few weeks we will start the transformation to the summer season.

Peppers and tomatoes waiting to be planted.

That is all we have for now.  It is back outside to finish watering and start that never ending chore of weeding.  It is a very time demanding task, however if not, we will have a garden / yard full of the flowers below…

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.  Zen proverb.

This is the common Vetch plant…member of the pea family and a pretty flowering (and nitrogen fixing) but invasive weed that will take over your garden! Not a friend to the gardener.

Till next time…

Jeff & Sandra