Veggies...what are they good for?

Carrots

The carrot (Daucus carota subsp. sativus, Etymology: Middle French carotte, from Late Latin carōta, from Greek karōton, originally from the Indoeuropean root ker- (horn), due to its horny shape) is a root vegetable, usually orange or white, or red-white blend in colour, with a crisp texture when fresh. The edible part of a carrot is a taproot. It is a domesticated form of the wild carrot, Daucus carota, native to Europe and southwestern Asia. It has been bred for its greatly enlarged and more palatable, less woody-textured edible taproot, but is still the same species. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrot)

Carrot Ginger Soup

• 1 diced medium red onion
  
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 4 tablespoons fresh minced ginger
  
• 2-3 clove finely minced garlic
  
• 1 1/2 cup chopped carrots
  
• 3 cups vegetable broth
  
• 1/4 cup of orange juice
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup cream

Heat olive oil over medium heat in the bottom of stockpot. Add onions and cook until soft, but do not brown. Add ginger and garlic and cook until soft and fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.Add carrots, broth, and orange juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until carrots are exceedingly tender, about 20-30 minutes. In batches, puree soup in blender (or do it in the pot if you have an immersion blender).Thin with additional broth as needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (http://www.slashfood.com/2006/10/03/recipe-carrot-ginger-soup/)

Dilled Carrots

• 3 cups carrots cut into 1 inch pieces
  
• 1/2 cup water
  
• 2 tablespoons butter
  
• 1 teaspoon sugar
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/2 teaspoon dill weed

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Cover. Bring to boil then cook gently for approximately 10 minutes or until carrots are tender crisp. (The Practical Produce Cookbook, pg. 57).

Grilled, baked or broiled?

I know all babies grow up, but that was fast! On Friday, May 9th I first took pictures of these chickens. They were so small and fluffy. Looking at them now you would never know why I thought they were so cute.

Recently one of the CSA members asked John if he names the birds. He replied, "Why yes. They are named dinner, dinner and dinner." I know I shouldn't be looking forward to it, but one of these birds is going to be on my July 4th table.

I can't help myself!

The raspberries at the farm are out of this world! I have eaten a pint of them a day for the last few days.

At the end of last season, the CSA members requested that the shares include fruit. This year rhubarb, strawberries and raspberries were planted with the hope that next year there will be a large enough yield to include them in the CSA shares. Theresa planted two types of raspberries, one summer variety which is fruiting now and one everbearing variety which will continue to fruit into the fall (which is a good thing for me because I am not ready to give them up anytime soon).

The raspberries are producing, but their fruit production really won't take off until next year. The strawberries did not produce many berries, which was expected, and the rhubarb cannot be harvested until next year in order to give the plant time to grow. In the mean time, it's a good thing you aren't actually what you eat or I would now be an appealing shade of pink.

Quick! Let's get out of here!

That's what I imagine one head lettuce said to the other right before they bolted.

In hot weather lettuce bolts or begins to produce seeds, making the lettuce too bitter to eat. We had a few days of unseasonably warm weather two weeks ago which brought about the end of our head lettuce season. Organic Gardening offers the tip:

To extend your growing season, plant lettuce between or under larger plants to shade it from strong sun. (http://www.organicgardeing.com/)

Veggies...what are the good for?

• Kale
  Kale or Borecole is a form of cabbage (Brassical oleracea, Acephala Group), green in color, in which the central leaves do not form a head. It is considered to be closer to wild cabbage than most domesticated forms. (http://en.wikepedia.org.wiki/kale)
  
  Kale with Red Pepper
  
• 1 bunch kale
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 medium red sweet pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Wash greens well. Trim tough stems. Chop coarsely. Bring 1/4 inch water to boil in 10 inch skillet. Add greens. Cover and cook one minute or until greens are wilted. Drain and set aside. Melt butter in same skillet. Add red pepper and garlic; cook until tender. Stir in greens, salt and pepper. Cover and cook 3-5 minutes. (The Practical Produce Cookbook, pg. 107)

Kale with Sour Cream

• 3 lb kale
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup sour cream

Wash the kale in cold water and remove heavy stems. Put in a saucepan with boiling salted water to cover. Simmer, covered, for 5-10 minutes or until kale is tender. Drain and chop fine. Return chopped kale to saucepan and stir in the butter, salt, pepper and nutmet. Heat through. Stir in sour cream gradually, Heat through, but do not boil. (The Practical Produce Cookbook, pg. 106).

A part of history

Having the opportunity to work at Colchester Farm is particularly interesting because Colchester has been designated a Maryland Century Farm. This means that not only am I gaining valuable farming experience, I get to help ensure the continuation of farming on the property.

"To receive this designation, at least one descendant of the pre-1884 owners must still live on and/or farm the property; the farm must retain ten of its original acres and the property must turn a profit of at least $2,500.00," (Kent County Office of Tourism Development, Farms & Country Tour Brochure).

Now that's a carrot!!

It's hard to believe that it has only been a month and a half since I arrived at the farm. Today we harvested our first carrots for the CSA members (the carrots for which I named my blog). Seeing them now it seems impossible that I didn't recognize them. However, today when we were weeding the second round of baby carrots, if you weren't standing too far away, you would have heard an "Oops!" or two, maybe four.