Helsing Junction Farm Newsletter Archive

Week 5/July 14-16, 2009

Greetings from Helsing Junction Farm!

The first new potatoes of the season.

Another gorgeous week on the farm begins after a busy yet relaxing weekend involving a Friday night cherry jam making session that inspired a cherry vodka martini thing Annie’s brother made, which in turn helped inspire him to make the best cherry/nectarine cobbler ever (with rhubarb we snitched from the neighbor’s field) which made a huge mess that we spent the rest of the weekend cleaning up.  For several happy hours, five of us pitted 50 pounds of cherries, whose juice ran down our hands like blood and covered every known kitchen surface with small red dots, including for some reason our feet and the window.  Once the cherry jubilee died down and the kitchen was scrubbed back to its normal semi-grubby state we still had Sunday to come out of our sugar coma and get ready to think about vegetables again.

We are battling the weeds in earnest as we do every July. We use a combination of several techniques to combat them. We use our small ancient tractor called a Farmall cub to cultivate for weeds inside the beds and in the pathways between beds, which we also use a rototiller on.  For weed cultivation inside the vegetable beds we use a combination of a wheel hoe, 2 sizes of hand hoes and we also spend a lot of time weeding by hand.  By mid-July 100’s, probably 1,000’s of different varieties of weeds have germinated and began the race to seed.  Here at Helsing Junction Farm we grow some real doozies, what with our lush soil and steady diet of food, worm tea and water.  The only good thing about the great July weed campaign is that once it is over, we are done with a major portion of our weeding for the summer and can get on with one of our most favorite tasks, harvesting and enjoying summer’s rich bounty.  Did you know that we ate both strawberries (late for them!) and Sungold tomatoes (early for them) on the same day, a real farm first!  We expect to have tomatoes as soon as next week, and maybe green beans too!  

How quickly time flies in the summer!  August is right around the corner so we wanted to take this opportunity to check in with you and make sure that things are going smoothly.  Since this is a farm, things don’t ever really go smoothly, but after so many years we actually seem to be getting used to the millions of ways that things can break down, go wrong, explode or what have you!  Every spring it feels like the whole ungainly operation will never come together and function.  This year we seemed to specialize in mechanical failure; from our field trucks to the rototiller to small problems with our cultivating tractor, not one mechanical thing was consistently working properly.  We survived it all with multiple trips to various mechanics as well as some inexpert banging of our own.  We liken the beginning of the season to the creation of some huge ungainly Frankenstein-like monster that we were trying to create in our broken down old laboratory.  Just at the point when we thought the darn thing would never move, let alone walk, in a gargantuan effort it hoisted itself to its feet and stumbled forward.  Here on the farm we call that spring.  Now that the monster is walking and there’s no stopping it, we call that summer.   

Now that a large portion of our planting is finished for the year, our weeding hopefully skidding to a halt and our CSA sales work tapering off, we can turn our attention to our soil.  We have been working with the USDA/Natural Resources Conservation Service on a grant which will focus on improving our farming practice by giving us both information and financing through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.  Projects that will most likely be funded are soil testing, cover cropping, composting and monitoring/improving the way and amount we water.  We will also be receiving detailed information on updating our tilling practice, crop rotation and plant pathology.  Everything we need in short to make us better farmers!  Although we have been doing what we do for almost 20 years, we still have a lot to learn.  When you spend time thinking about what it means to try to run a sustainable business, as a farmer your thoughts must always come back to your soil.  The goal in small to medium scale organic farming these days is a closed cycle of nutrients, with nothing removed from the soil that isn’t put back in.  The grant money we will be receiving is provided through the farm bill which for the first time has made special provisions for organic farms.  We were actually approached by the NRCS who wants to document that funding for projects and research on medium sized farms is necessary and should be an important part of the next farm bill.     

Fresh Peas:
We’ve been impatiently waiting for the pea patch to mature; this week we have some peas for Tuesday's boxes, and next week we will have peas for Thursday's boxes.  Tuesday's boxes will contain snap peas and shell peas.  They look very similar, but they are eaten very differently.  Probably the best way to test which is which is to bite a pod.  The entire pod of the snap peas is edible, like a snow pea.  They are great stir-fried or in one of the recipes in this newsletter.  The pods of the shell peas are not edible.  Break the top of the pod off and pull down the string on the side of the pod.  Open the pod and then run your thumb down the pod and pop the peas out into a dish.  It takes a while, but the result is heavenly.  Peas are good raw too.  Eat snap peas with dip or chevre style goat cheese, or eat shell peas straight out of the pod.  Yum.
     
How to cook shell peas:
-Boil shelled peas in salted water for 1 minute.
-Drain well and cook over medium heat in a frying pan to thoroughly dry the peas. Toss with a pat of butter and serve.

Curly Endive:
Don’t be afraid, curly endive is yummy.  You just have to cut it up or cook it enough to take away some of the overwhelming curl.  Among other things curly endive contains carotenoids, calcium and vitamin C as do other leafy greens.

Rainbow Chard:
What can we say but that we love rainbow chard.  It is easy to grow, long lasting in the field, vivid and pretty and tastes good too.  We use it as a substitute for spinach in recipes that call for cooked spinach, though we like it even better.  It shrinks a little less when you cook it, it has a less metallic taste and it has an amazing amount of protein for a vegetable.  We think it tastes great raw in salads too.  

Radicchio:
Humans have been using radicchio since ancient times. Pliny the Elder wrote of it praising its medicinal properties; he claimed it was useful as a blood purifier and an aid for insomniacs. In fact, radicchio contains intybin, a blood and liver tonic, as well as a type of flavonoid called anthocyanins.  Modern cultivation of the plant began in the fifteenth century, in the Veneto region of Italy, but the deep-red radicchio of today was engineered in 1860 by the Belgian agronomist Francesco Van den Borre, who used a technique called imbianchimento (whitening) or preforcing to create the dark red, white-veined leaves.  The varieties of radicchio are named after the Italian regions where they originate: the most ubiquitous variety in the United States is radicchio di Chioggia (the radicchio we grow most), which is maroon, round, and about the size of a grapefruit. Somewhat less common in the States is the radicchio di Treviso (which we also grow), which resembles a large Belgian endive: other varieties include Tardivo, and the white-colored radicchio di Castelfranco, both of which resemble flowers and are only available in the winter months.  In the same way that the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese-makers of Parma, Italy, have sought to protect the name "Parmesan" to signify only cheeses made in their region under the supervision of a regulating body, so too have the radicchio farmers of the Veneto sought to protect the names of some radicchio varieties, including Tardivo.  Radicchio is bitter but combined with sweet and salty elements it tastes wonderful.

This Week's Shares

Recipes

White Bean and Endive Soup:
You could also make this soup with rainbow chard or radicchio.
-Trim the end off of 1 endive and separate the leaves and wash them well in cool water, especially the center of the leaves where soil collects.  
-Stack the leaves and cut them crosswise into 1-inch strips.
-Dice up 4 carrots. 
-Chop up 5 cloves of garlic and 3-4 small zucchini.    
-Heat 1 TBS olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium-low heat.
-Add the carrots and cook for 5 minutes. 
-Add the zucchini and the garlic and cook for another 3 minutes.
-Add the endive and cook for another 3-5 minutes more.  
-Then add 4 cups of broth, two 15-ounce cans of cannellini or Great Northern beans and one 14-16 ounce can of diced tomatoes.  
-Cover and simmer 20 minutes until endive is soft, season with salt and pepper. 
-Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

Wilted Greens with Garlic and Anchovies:
From a recipe by Mario Batali.
-Wash and spin dry 1 head of curly endive or 1 bunch rainbow chard or 1 head of radicchio cut into ½ inch wide ribbons.
-Thinly slice 4 cloves of fresh garlic.
-Heat a 10-12 inch sauté pan over medium-high heat until hot.
-Add 2 TBS olive oil, 3 rinsed anchovy fillets and the sliced garlic. 
-Cook until the garlic is light brown, about 1 minute.
-Add the endive or chard or radicchio and cook stirring constantly until wilted, about 5 minutes.
-Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with ½ lemon squeezed overtop and some grated Parmesan if desired.

Breaded Summer Squash:  
-Slice 5-7 summer squash into long ¼ inch lengths.
-Beat 1 egg in a wide mouthed bowl. 
-Fill another bowl with some flour and yet another bowl with a combination of ¼ cup finely grated Parmesan (the powdery kind) and about ¼ cup breadcrumbs (herbed ones are best).
-Generously grease a cookie sheet with olive oil and pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
-First dip the summer squash in the eggs, then in the flour.  
-Then dip them in the eggs again, and then completely coat them with the breadcrumb mixture.
-Place on a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes until lightly browned.  Serve hot with garlic aioli.

Garlic Aioli:  
This is delicious on all vegetables, but especially summer squash, carrots and green beans.  It’s also good on sandwiches and grilled meats.
-Put a whole egg, a pinch of salt and ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil into the blender and blend on high.
-Add another ¾ cup olive oil in a light steady stream until all is incorporated and then add 3 TBS fresh lemon juice.
-Finely chop 2-3 cloves of fresh garlic with a pinch of sea salt until smooth.
-Stir garlic into the mayonnaise and thin with more lemon juice if necessary.-Sprinkle with a little finely chopped dill and then chill.

Sue’s Garden Quesadillas:
Easy to make and kind of stange sounding, but so good!
-Shell a handful of peas. 
-Grate 2-3 small summer squash.  
-Chop up 4 green onions or a TBS chives and some dill or cilantro.  
-Grate some cheese (sharp cheddar, queso fresco or spicy jack would be nice).
-Melt some butter over low heat in a large frying pan.  
-Add 2 corn tortillas and fry on one side until lightly browned.
-Flip over; on half the tortilla add some cheese, some peas, some grated squash, some chives or green onions and some dill or cilantro.
-Top with some more cheese, fold over and fry over very low heat until the cheese is melted and the tortillas are browned.

Orzo with Carrots and Herbs:
-Dice 1 bunch of carrots.  
-Melt 2 TBS butter in a medium sized saucepan.  
-Add the carrots and 1 and 1/3 cups orzo.  
-Cook over medium high heat for 5 minutes.  
-Add 4 cups chicken broth and 5 cloves chopped garlic.  
-Cook uncovered until liquid is absorbed 15-20 minutes.
-Stir in ¼ cup grated Parmesan, 3 TBS chopped chives or green onions, some chopped dill or cilantro and salt and pepper to taste.

Braised Radicchio:  
This dish goes well with roast chicken or pork.
-Cut 1 head of radicchio in half.  Slice out the white core.  Lay face down and slice into ½-inch ribbons.
-Heat 2 TBS unsalted butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Add 3 cloves chopped fresh garlic.
-Cook for 1 minute, then add the radicchio, ½ cup chicken broth, 1 sprig chopped dill and 1 tsp sugar.
-Cover and cook until the radicchio is tender, about 5 minutes.-Remove the cover and simmer 1 minute more to reduce the liquid.  Season with salt and pepper.

Stir-Fried Shrimp with Snap Peas and Ginger:
-Put 2 cups of cold water into a large bowl and add 1 TBS salt.
-Add 1 pound of peeled and deveined shrimp to the water and let stand for 5 minutes.
-Rinse shrimp and dry on paper towels.
-In a small bowl mix together 1/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth, 2 tsp rice wine, 1½ tsp soy sauce, 1 ½ tsp cornstarch, ½ tsp sugar and 1/8 tsp white pepper.  Set aside.
-Mince up 1 TBS fresh ginger and 4 cloves of garlic.  Set aside.  
-Chop up 2 TBS chives and 2 TBS dill or cilantro.
-Take the strings off 1 pound of snap peas.  Set aside.
-Heat 1 TBS vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat.  
-Cook shrimp, turning constantly, until pink on all sides, about 1 minute.
-Stir in the garlic, ginger and 2 tsp more oil. Cook for 1 minute more.
-Then add the snap peas and ¼ tsp salt. Stir-fry 1 minute longer.
-Add broth mixture to skillet and continue to cook until sauce thickens

Caesar Salad with a Twist:
-To make croutons; press 3 cloves of garlic into 2 TBS olive oil and spread on 3-4 slices of French bread.  Sprinkle with salt.
-Cut the bread into bite-size cubes then bake in the oven at 350 degrees until lightly brown about 5-10 minutes.  (Keep your eye on them so they don't burn.)
For dressing;
-In a blender, puree 2 cloves of garlic.  
-Then add 2-4 anchovy filets, a little salt, 1 egg yolk (you can boil the egg for 1 minute), ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil and lots of freshly ground black pepper.  
-Process until smooth and then add the juice of 1 freshly squeezed lemon.
-Wash and dry 1 lettuce.  Tear the lettuce into bite size pieces. 
-Some slivered radicchio would also be excellent here.  
-Slice up some chives or green onions and add them to the lettuce.  
-Grate 2 carrots and add as well.
-Toss the lettuce with the dressing and sprinkle with a generous amount of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and the croutons, adding some cannellini beans, grilled chicken breasts, tuna fish or olives.

Cobb Salad:
-Poach 2 large boneless chicken breasts by placing in boiling water to cover by 1 inch.  
-Reduce heat and simmer gently for 18 minutes.  
-Turn off heat and let sit for 30 minutes in the poaching liquid.  
-Drain, cool completely and then dice the chicken into cubes.
-Hard boil 2 eggs and then chop into tiny cubes.
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-Place 6-8 slices thick cut bacon a shallow baking pan and bake for 10-12 minutes until just crisp.  
-Cut into ¼ inch pieces at set aside.
-Slice into thin strips and then wash and dry 1 head of lettuce and half a head of curly endive.
-Slice up 2 avocados and 1 heirloom tomato.
For the dressing:  
Combine ½ cup red wine vinegar, 1 TBS Dijon mustard, 1 TBS fresh lemon juice, 1 clove minced fresh garlic, ½ cup olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper.
-Shake well then add ½ cup crumbled fancy blue cheese (such as the one from Rouge Creamery or something local).
To assemble the salad:  
Put the greens in large salad bowl. 
-Top with the diced chicken and bacon and then toss with some of the dressing.  
-Top with the avocado, tomato and chives/green onions.  
-Drizzle with a little more salad dressing and serve.

Helsing Junction Farm
12013 Independence Road, Rochester, WA 98579 | (360)273-2033
helsingfarm@msn.com | www.helsingfarmcsa.com

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