Melons on the way. no more rain, though, if we want them to be sweet.
Interns in the summer cover crop
We really enjoyed having many of you out to the farm this past weekend. It’s always nice to see and hear everyone’s reaction to the farm. We are truly lucky to live where we do, and are able to share our love for growing vegetables and flowers with so many interesting people. If you didn’t make it out for the party, we’re always here working away, and you are always welcome to come lend a hand, worker member or not.
Tuesday’s harvest was a wild one! There were waves of storms that came through Sandy Mush that made harvest a bit of a challenge. We had to retreat to the barn due to all the lightening strikes, high winds, and pelleting rain. We worked on getting the onions and garlic together, then went back down to the fields to finish up the harvest only to be soaked through a second time. We managed to get everything up, except for the flowers, to spend the last hour cleaning and sorting, in our cold and wet clothes. Fortunately, Vanessa made us a nice warm lunch that had us up and moving in no time. The amount of rain we got, about 2”, does pose many problems for the next few days. But we’ll cross that bridge on tomorrow.
Our family is off on our annual summer vacation starting on Thursday. We’ll be gone about 10 days. The interns will be running the show! This time gives us a much needed break, and gives the interns a real life experience running the farm. No one is around to tell them what to do all the time; they’re going to have to figure it out on their own! Wish us all luck.
******Worker members, we are ready to put you to work! Please take a moment to look at your calendars to see when you might be able to fulfill your work commitment.******
Ideas for Cooking
GRILLING VEGETABLESGrilled vegetables make a great addition to any meal. A nice thing is they can be a hot side dish or a great salad. They are best served hot or warm. This sounds simple, but a few issues need to be addressed. First, vegetables don’t like hot fires. A medium fire is best. What this means is that when you hold your hand palm down, five inches over the fire, you should be able to keep it there for four seconds. Brush or pour a bit of olive oil over the vegetables. Salt and pepper before and after cooking. You can add fresh herbs, garlic and/or grated citrus zest to the oil. A pre-seasoned oil is good too.Big slices can be cooked straight on the grill. Little ones, like cherry tomatoes need a skewer. I have a grid for ones that might fall through the grill. Dense vegetables should go on first. Corn(best left in the shuck), eggplant cut ¾ inch, mushrooms, peppers, cut into large wedges, plum tomatoes, cut in half and zucchini, sliced lengthwise. Faster cooking vegetables go on last. Asparagus, with tough ends snapped off, onions, cut in to ½ inch thickness. Green beans should be cooked the way you like them. Usually on the long side unless they are really thin. For salads, vinaigrettes are the ticket.