Now where did we put those...? oh! In the fridge!

This beauty is the newest addition to our hillside.  It is a refrigerator container that is serving as storage right now while we begin preparing for construction on the basement.   When we are finished, it will be cold storage for produce when we pack for the markets.  The future calls for a coat of paint and even a roof eventually to improve the aesthetic presentation. For now, we will just keep the jokes coming about pizza delivery and our graffiti tagged structure.

Our New Crawler Tractor!

Remember that tractor stuck in the mud last spring?  This will put an end to that, at least that's how Vince persuaded Anna and justified buying this track loader.

Where else do you try out your new crawler than the smelly compost pile?

Of course Pieter had to try out the new tractor without a steering wheel

a farmers market season

We thought it would be interesting to see the progression of produce we offered at the farmers markets throughout the growing season. Between the two markets we usually have at least one picture a week of the full display. Posted here are various weeks in order from July to October.  They are not the best pictures of produce, but they are the ones that show the complete display and how we went from one table to three from July to October.

Watering hole

When Vern built the road for us, he needed a little extra material. It worked out great when he dug a small pond to get more dirt for the road. Now the runoff from the hillside can be directed towards the pond and we have a little habitat for wildlife and a beautiful pond to enjoy.

Tomatoes

Giant tomatoes!

When they're this fresh, you can eat a tomato like an apple (and you need to wear a bib!)

Vince was proud of his tomatoes this year. Some of them grew to be really big and we were told by a wise, veteran tomato grower that the more cracks the more flavorful the tomato. They drew quite a bit of attention at the market. Unfortunately, they also grew attention from unidentified critters who liked to snack on them straight off the vine. We had a lot of tomatoes that we got to eat half of because something else had bitten into them. After the markets were over, an entire day was spent preserving tomatoes in sauce for use this winter.

Celery! (and a recipe too!)

Vince was cautioned that it is very difficult to grow celery here and not to mess with it. So of course he had to try.  This year was attempt number two.  Unlike last time, it worked! We harvested beautiful, crisp celery.  It is darker green and smaller than conventional celery found in the supermarket, and a little sweet. And when cooked, it becomes even sweeter.  It was a hard sell at first, but after one week at the market, we had repeat customers the next week coming specifically to us for the crunchy green goodness. 

After his suggestions for "ants on a log" were shot down, and unsure of the best way to preserve celery, Vince found a recipe for mirepoix. We were told by a customer that it is possible to blanch and freeze celery for use in cooking (it will be limp) and after more research, found that it can be dried or stored with the roots on in a root cellar. That being said, Anna had already chopped her way through this recipe that also called for more things we just happened to have around here: carrots and onions.  I'm told by my friend, Jeanna Stroble, who knows all things French, that you can also use olive oil in place of the butter.  We made large batches and froze it in portions for future use. Below is the recipe.

Mirepoix

A traditional French mixture containing finely diced carrots, onions, and celery, seasoned with minced herbs, and sauteed in butter is commonly called mirepoix (pronounced: "meer-pwah"). A bit of smoked meat is sometimes added to the dish to add flavor, small cubes of ham or bacon. A mirepoix is used to season stews, soups, sauces, and fricasses. It is also common to use it as a base for braising meats or fish.
Ingredients:

1 cup diced white onion
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
2 tablespoons butter 
dash pepper

Directions:

Dice the onion, carrot, and celery in small, uniform pieces. Melt butter in a cast iron frying pan over medium heat. Add celery, carrot, onion, and pepper. Sautee until vegetables are tender.

Here is what the website added:
Mirepoix is great cooked with chicken or beef in a crock pot. With beef try adding some canned green beans and some diced tomatoes, with a bit of garlic, pepper, basil, oregano, and just a slim dash of cilantro.
After frying pork chops, you can deglaze the pan by pouring in some of the mixture after the meat has fried and quickly removing the caramelization - do not allow the mirepoix to burn, but just pick up the flavor of the meat and caramel. A little can be poured over the chops like a sauce when they are served.
There are many more ways of using mirepoix, the only limit is your imagination.

Link to Mirepoix recipe and tips for preserving celery

An Evening Walk on the Farm

A recent summer evening Vince took a break from tractor work and the whole family took a walk through the farm; checking out the gardens, taste testing and surveying produce to take to the market that week.  Here is our little walk in pictures (Mom and Julia were the photographers):

Pieter stopped to collect eggs

and more eggs...

Vince got excited about one of the first tomatoes

And Pieter had to taste them.

surveying (and tasting) the pole beans

Taste-testing a cucumber: there's something to be said for feeding our kids straight from the garden.

Checking for growth from the newly planted seeds.

Hi, Mom!  Dirt, bugs and veggies = a happy kid!

Swiss chard in the evening sunlight

Chatting about the day

A New Road

Vern at work

Worried about being "stuck in the muck" in the coming winter and spring, now that we are planting winter crops in the acre "way down down,"  we hired a friend (thanks, Vern Nelson!) to bulldoze a road bridging the upper land from the lower.  It is hopefully raised high enough to allow tractor travel all year; avoiding traveling through the muddy ditch.

Of course, Pieter had to climb up to check it out.

Two new recipes: squash blossoms and snow peas

Dana Daniel is a local chef based in Snohomish. Recently she chose our produce for two of her weekly recipes for the Snohomish Farmers Market. 

Below are the links to the recipes. Check out her website for more great recipes!

 fresh squash blossoms at the market

CRISPY STUFFED SQUASH BLOSSOMS

photo courtesy of Dana Daniel

 



GOLDEN BEET & SNOW PEA SALAD