Our New "G"

Vince has a new girlfriend- his Allis Chalmers G.  I'm not even sure Allis Chalmers was a female, but in order to keep herself in competition, Anna had to take her out for a test ride. We are very excited about this new find (as you can see in the picture above). It all started with a visit to the antique tractor show, where we saw her for the first time.  The neighbor down the road was actually selling her, so a few weeks later, we paid him a visit and soon after, Vince and his new tractor were bumping home down the road.  We can now see what we are cultivating right underneath us without looking backwards all the time to see if we missed the spinach. The idea is that the G will take over some of the hand hoeing work between rows. It can also do many other things, I just don't know exactly what they are, but they way I hear it, they're pretty neat.

"Okay, so I have to ask...what is a ground cherry?"

Our big basket of ground cherries drew a lot of attention at the markets last week and we have our answer to the question, "Okay, so I have to ask... what is a ground cherry?" down pat. Our first response: "Well, taste one. Find a nice yellow one and pop it out of the husk." That first taste always elicits a most wonderful facial expression- one of surprise and pleasant satisfaction. Then comes the study of the taste and texture they just experienced, followed by an explanation of what the taste reminds them of. And the crowd gathers to see the excitement...

Danielle collects ripe ground cherries by lifting the vine and gathering the ones that have fallen.

Here is our official answer: Yes, we grown them right here in Snohomish. Ground Cherries are closely related to tomatillos (although they taste much sweeter) and the flower Chinese Lanterns. The ground cherry is a sprawling plant that produces a small golden fruits encased in a papery husks.They grow on a low growing vine and the fruit falls off of the vine when they are ripe. They are then harvested by collecting them off of the ground. When let to sit out in the husk, they ripen further for a few weeks and gain an even sweeter flavor. They are popular to use in salads, jams and preserves, raw as a snack and in salsa. We also heard ideas for sorbets, pies, and a chance to impress dinner guests with a unique food.

What to do with a Hungarian Hot Wax Pepper

As promised at the Farmer's Market, here is the recipe displayed with our Hungarian Hot Wax Peppers.  It was passed on to our brother from a family friend, and the tradition continues!

1. Wash and cut out the insides of the peppers.  (the more seeds that are left with the peppers the hotter they will be.)  Slice to make uniform rings.

2. Soak peppers in the following solution for 12-24 hours:

1 quart vinegar
3 quarts water
1 cup salt

3. Pack tightly into jars and add garlic if desired.  Pour in corn oil until jars are full and peppers are completely covered. It is very important that corn oil is used and no other oil!

4. Store in refrigerator and use on sandwiches, in salads, or any recipe calling for hot peppers.

How Sweet It Is: Honey!!

Anna and Dave are all smiles, expecting the best as they open the hives to look for honey.

This is what the honey looks like before it is extracted.

Calming down the bees. 

Blackberry Honey! The first batches of honey were made at the start of August. It has been such an interesting process to observe and learn.  For more information on what Dave and Anna are doing, visit their website: www.colonialhoneyfarm.webs.com. 

Corn!

It seems to be a magical time of year: sweet corn season! Each year we push the envelope to find early varieties that are still flavorful. This year we brought small, sweet corn to the first market in August.  We had to put up a sign saying it is local- not grown in Eastern Washington because customers assumed it came from the hot sunny side of the state. Not our corn- it's from our own back yard! 

It Takes a Village

Aunt Joanie playing tug-a-war with asparagus weeds

It takes a lot of friends and family to get us out of these weeds this summer. And a village to buy the produce after it's weeded. We are so grateful for all of the help!

Cousin Marshall collecting eggs.

 Marshall taught himself to back up a trailer. Bring on the license!

 

Plan(ting) for Fall

Growing produce takes a lot of foresight and planning ahead- hence the need for good record keeping. In addition to planting certain things all summer long on a staggered basis, we have been planting the second round of starts so that we will have vegetables in the fall as well. They are cool weather crops; cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and greens - similar to what we harvested in the spring.