August is here and it is hot. We have been running our irrigation well without stop for the last 11 days (literally). Rain dance, spells, cloud seeding; its all welcome — please! On the vegetable side we are just starting to pick tomatoes (yippee!) look for them to be in abundance soon. Along with other summer faves like eggplants peppers and more of these lovely summer onions.
Still Have Kohlrabi in Your Fridge?
We will not have kohlrabi in the share this week, but there was a fair amount of chatter at pick up last week about great recipes people have tried with kohlrabi, or on the other end, a build up of kohlrabi in the fridge. If you are in the latter category, here’s a couple recipes that we like. If you just want to wing it try using kohlrabi any way you would a carrots (slice, shred, saute). We’ve been grating it and topping our salads with it for nice crunch. Others have been slicing and baking or roasting them “french fry” style (with curry powder!), using kohlrabi in carrot soup, and making latkes with kohlrabi. Hope these ideas help. If you are ever feeling overwhelmed, or looking for ideas to use any of the produce, please let us know! We’re happy to share ideas.
Kohlrabi Carrot Salad
- 1 medium sized kohlrabi, peeled
- 2-3 carrots
- Juice from 1 large lemon (or rice vinegar)
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon harissa, sriracha or your favorite hot sauce
- ~10mint leaves (Upic has mint)
- 2 ounces feta cheese
Julienne (cut into matchsticks) carrots and kohlrabi and toss together with the rest of the ingredients. Let sit for 15 minutes and enjoy.
Kohlrabi Fritters
- 1 large size kohlrabi, peeled
- 1 red or yellow onion
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- olive oil for frying
Grate Kohlrabi with food processor or box grater. Lay into a kitchen towel and squeeze out any excess moisture. Preheat large skillet over medium heat and add enough olive to cover entire surface. Toss kohlrabi with the rest of the ingredients. Once oil is hot enough to shimmer in the skillet and heaping tablespoon size portion of kohlrabi mixture into the oil, using a spatula to lightly flatten. Cook until starting to brown and then flip. Continue to cook until lightly brown on the other side. remove to a towel and continue cooking spoonfuls until you have finished the batter. Enjoy with yogurt, soy sauce or your favorite sauce.
What’s in the Share
Bok Choi/Tatsoi
Chard
Pepper mix and match
Carrots
Sweet Onions
Scallions
Summer Squash
What’s in Upic
Flowers
Herbs
As July comes to a close and we have our first rain in almost a month (last one was but .22 inches) it’s time for the onion family to shine. Alliums are one of the first crops we start in the greenhouse (last week of February) and once they germinate their leaves start measuring the light they gather. Unlike leafy crops (lettuce or kale) or even most fruit crops (zucchini) that are ready for harvest after they gather a set number of light and heat hours, alliums will continue to grow until the hours of daylight stops lengthening at summer solstice. Once the days start shortening the plants take notice and put all of their energy into making a bulb. This bulb is the onion’s attempt to store energy for the coming winter and kickstart the production of flowers and seeds next spring. Of course we don’t let this happen because we enjoy the eating these bulb so much.
short time as they don’t store well. This is the onion to chop raw into a salad or cut thickly to top your best grilled burger. Of course you can cook them but they really shine raw.
We also harvested garlic this week which is currently drying and curing in the barn. If you are on the way out to the Upic field you can check out out fan assisted drying contraption! We should start seeing garlic in the share in about a month.
Been adding irrigation to our todo list this week. Unfortunately this is not a small task and has been eating up a large chunk of everyday as we move our water delivery from plot to plot and field to field. Most of our watering is done with the help of 30 foot aluminum pipes we connect together in crazy configurations going up hills, around corners and under roads. We lay this pipe out each spring and in between those April days and now the mice move in. They stuff the ends with their favorite grasses and seeds, hoping these shiny metal houses will become the rodent equivalent of modern dream homes come winter. As we move the pipes and place them about the mice vacate, leaving behind all of their hard work. This means we have to flush these clogs from each 30 foot section as we link them so that their winter stores won’t clog the sprinkler heads or drip lines. Watching the matted lumps of golden hay pour forth like the drain clearing in that old Drain-o commercial with the see through kitchen sink. I think a lot about these mice and all of their hard work as I am waiting for clean the water every 30 feet. I’m glad I am not a field mouse, but I respect their labors.
