Strawberry Moon Ushers in Blueberry Season

    I hope that everyone got a chance to look up at the sky over the weekend and view the full moon.  It was supposed to be the brightest and largest moon of the year.  The sight of it rising over the hill above my garden was lovely indeed.

    According to the almanac, this moon was the “Strawberry Moon.”  It arrived just at the end of our strawberry season.  The good news is that it is now the start of blueberry season, so there is another berry favorite to be found at Farmers Market over the next few weeks.

    June has gone by so quickly—it is hard to believe we are almost at the end of the month already.  The garden plants have gotten much bigger in just the past couple of weeks.  I am so tempted to pick things before I should.  The little green tomatoes on the vine look so delicious.  We all know how much I love fried green tomatoes.  But really, they are just not quite big enough for frying yet, so I am trying to be patient and leave them alone.

    I have little green beans on the plants now.  I picked a baby one for my father the other day and he keeps raving over the flavor.  I know he really wants me to go out and pick some more for him but they are just slightly too small at this point and picking enough for a meal would be rather tedious.  I hear thunder outside as I write this, so I really hope we get some rain in order to plump them up and make the ready to pick.

    It is exciting now to go to market and see which farmers have different vegetables available.  Even though we all mostly live within the same county, there are many factors that determine how soon each farmer is able to get their plants and seeds in the ground.  You never know who will be the first to offer a certain fruit or vegetable each season.  The first tomatoes and sweet corn are usually pretty exciting events.

   While we are waiting for those main season summer veggies to get into full swing, here is a quick and yummy summer lunch idea using what is plentiful right now.  (From www.cultivatingsustainability.com)

Quesadillas with Swiss Chard, Summer Squash & Black Beans

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 large summer squash (any combination of yellow squash or zucchini)
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 large bunch swiss chard, chopped (including stems)
• 1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 8 oz cheddar cheese, grated
• 4 oz feta cheese, crumbled (I say use whatever cheese you have on hand)
• 6 large tortillas

Directions:  In a large cast-iron skillet, heat oil on medium high heat. Add onion and summer squash. Saute for 4 minutes or until they begin to brown (stirring only occasionally). Add garlic, saute for another 2 minutes. Add swiss chard and black beans and saute for 4 minutes, or until swiss chard is tender.  On a cutting board or large plate prep the quesadillas: sprinkle a little cheese on one tortilla, spoon about 1/2 cup of swiss chard mixture on top of cheese, spread evenly up to the edges of the tortilla, top with a little more cheese and another tortilla. Cook in skillet until crispy and browned on one side and then flip and cook other side.  Repeat for remaining quesadillas.  Top quesadillas with a dollop of sour cream.

  

    A Trip Down South

    Produce farmers don't really know the meaning of the words summer vacation.  Planting season begins in April, or sooner if you have a greenhouse to take care of, and is not really over until the end of October.  Therefore, any extended trips usually have to be taken in the winter.  

    Having said that, I have been lucky enough to sneak away for a few days on a camping trip to the Carolina coast.  All of my crops have been planted and while I am still harvesting early vegetables like peas and lettuce, the main season veggies like tomatoes and peppers are not yet ready.  There is not really a good time to leave the farm--it will probably be a jungle when I return--but this is one of my last opportunities to get away before things get really crazy.

    It is full produce season in South Carolina right now.  Yesterday I visited a farm and was jealous of the beautiful tomato plants just loaded with big red tomatoes.  The farmer told me that they are about three weeks behind down here due to a cool spring.  It is plenty warm here now though.  I am writing this at about 11:00pm using the campground's wi-fi and it is still about 85 degrees.  I am told that it has been cool and rainy in Zanesville this week.

    At the farm's roadside stand there was sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, okra, and cantaloupe.  The big school buses which they use to haul watermelons out the fields were lined up waiting for the harvest to begin in a few days. 

   I brought some of my own vegetables with me like lettuce and snow peas.  The season for those crops has long since been finished down here, so I feel like I am enjoying the best of both worlds.  All of this fresh produce, plus the fresh shrimp we bought, has made this the best food I have eaten on a camping trip.  It is amazing the good things you can cook on a forty year old Coleman camp stove.

    Don't worry, I will be home in plenty of time to pick good things for the Zanesville Farmers Market on Saturday. We may not have the selection at home yet that I have been enjoying down here this week, but each week you will find something new added to the farmers' tables. 

    On my trip I was able to visit my friends Georgia and Tanja Phillips.  This mother/daughter duo are renowned cooks in their small community so I was happy to get the following recipe suggestion from them.

Bacon and Pea Pasta

• 1lb. Bacon
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 quart garden peas, shelled
• 1 yellow crookneck squash, diced
• 1 lb. pasta of choice (Tanja prefers linguine for this dish)
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Parmesan cheese to taste

Boil a pot of water and cook pasta until al dente.  Meanwhile, cook bacon in skillet until crisp.  Drain and crumble.  Leave some of the bacon grease in skillet and use it to sauté the onions until golden.  Add the yellow squash and sauté a couple of minutes.  Add the peas and sauté for a few seconds longer, but do NOT overlook the peas.  Add the bacon, squash, and peas to the pasta, season with salt and pepper and add Parmesan cheese.

 Island home!

 Hunting Island Lighthouse.  I love lighthouses, by the way.

 Beach!

 Dempsey U-Pick Farm, St. Helena Island, SC   And I thought I had sandy soil!  This is Becky in front of the tomatoes.

 Eggplant

 Tomatoes

 Sweet Corn

 Squash plants.  Look at those perfectly raised beds--they were at least 12 inches high.

Eggplant patch.  They were so tall--I wish I had someone standing next to them for scale (how could I forget Dr. Ritter telling me I always need to include something for scale?!)

 

This is a small portion of a huge hydrangea hedge in someone's yard.  I wanted so badly to stop and cut buckets full to bring home!!  This picture doesn't do it just--absolutely gorgeous!

Rain Helps Farmers Fields

Farmers are very thankful this week for the recent rains.  The fields were pretty dry and the difference in the plants was noticed immediately.  For example, the peas are finally filling out in their pods and the little yellow crookneck squash are starting to get big enough to pick.  Look for some at market this week.

The garden plants really shot up overnight it seems.  I spent a lot of time this week putting tomato stakes in the ground as the plants are starting to get big enough to need support.

            Of course, as the plants grow from the rain, so too do the weeds.  They are sprouting up everywhere.  June seems to be the time to battle against the weeds.  Hopefully, I can keep ahead of them now because once the main harvest of tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables comes on in July, weeding seems to go by the wayside.  If the weeds haven’t been kept in check before that point, it will become a jungle before you know it.

            In addition to weeding and hoeing, other another major garden project for this week was to plant my pumpkins and winter squash.  Autumn seems a long way away, but I know that the summer will fly by and before I know it these will be ready to harvest.

            My after dark project this week has been to make strawberry jam with the lesser quality strawberries.  The kitchen smells heavenly while it is cooking.  I have a problem with hoarding the jam and not letting anyone use it for a while.  It just looks so pretty on the shelf.  I really need to try not to do that this year.

My best friend Becky and I have a challenge going on with one another right now to not to eat sweets.  I haven’t asked her yet if that includes jam.  I feel like it should be classified as a condiment not a dessert.   Fortunately, we added a clause that we are allowed one freebie a week.  This week I used my pass on strawberry shortcake at my Grandma’s house the other night.  It was wonderful.

In an effort not to cheat on my challenge I looked up some savory strawberry recipes.  Here is a good one I found on the PBS food webpage (www.pbs.org).  It makes a nice appetizer.

Savory Goat Cheese and Herb Stuffed Strawberries

• 1 pt. fresh strawberries
• 4 oz. goat cheese
• 1 tbs fresh, finely chopped parsley
• 1/2 tbs fresh, finely chopped mint
• 1/2 tbs fresh, finely chopped chives
• 2 tbs cream (or milk)
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

Wash and hull strawberries, set aside. In a small bowl, combine goat cheese and herbs. Add zest and just enough cream to make the goat cheese creamy. Salt to taste.  Spoon or pipe this mixture into the center of the hulled berries.  Meanwhile, in a saucepan, add the balsamic vinegar and heat at a medium temperature until the vinegar gets syrupy and reduces by half. Drizzle on top of berries and serve immediately.

Farmers Market Helps Build Community Pride

Every week more and more produce is available at the Farmers Market.  This week, in addition to things such as lettuce, green onions, and radishes, look for peas and strawberries.  These are such a treat because the season is so short.  It seems like you blink and they are gone, so now is not a good time to miss Farmers Market.

            Wednesday, June 5^th was the first Downtown Farmers Market at the Welcome Center parking lot on Fifth Street.  It will continue to occur every Wednesday from 3:00-6:30 pm.  Now you have even more opportunity to purchase fresh local produce.

            This week I have been wearing many hats—juggling between farming and helping run the St. Thomas Festival.  On Wednesday afternoon you would have seen me running up and down the block on Fifth Street between Farmers Market and the Festival.  Hectic as it was, I was happy to be a part of lively events taking place in downtown Zanesville. 

            It reminded me that Zanesville is as great as we want to make it.  Community events at the fairgrounds, downtown, or other places in the county will only thrive if we all make an effort to get out and support them.  Shopping at our local farmers markets is as much about building community spirit and positive energy as it is about supporting local producers. 

            I think I will try to wear my old “I Love Livin’ in Zanesville” badge to Farmers Market on Saturday.  Remember that slogan from the late 1980’s?   I think it is time to revive that feeling.  I really do love livin’ in Zanesville; I hope you do too.

            Here is a really easy way to fix snow or snap peas.  Since you eat the whole pod on both of those types of peas, it is really quick to prepare because you don’t have to sit and shell them.  Just snap off the stem and you are ready to go.   

   

Garlic Roasted Snow Peas

·         1 quart snow or snap peas

·         1-2 carrots, slice on the diagonal about ¼ inch thick

·         2-3 garlic scapes, roughly chopped (This is the flower stalk of the garlic plant, only available in the spring.)

·         1 T. sesame oil (or olive oil)

·         Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 475º.  Toss peas, carrots, and garlic scapes in oil.  Spread in a thin layer on a baking sheet.  Roast for 10-15 minutes (toss them once in the middle.)  Season with salt and pepper to taste.