This was an exciting and fun week here on the farm. We had tornado watches, thunderstorms, sunny days, an injured hawk rescue and a lovely long hike in the woods to find berries. (We were looking for milkweed to put in your boxes, too, but we couldn't find any more buds - everything is in flower!) Here at the culmination of the harvest, we've got fresh boxes full of seasonal treats and interesting herbs with which to experiment. Tonight, after you get your box, we hope you will join us as we celebrate the beauty and bounty of the farm at an art show opening at the Overture Center in Madison - From Farm to Fork (and Function): An Exhibit by S.V. Medaris and Alicia Rheal. These two are great friends of the farm, and you'll recognize some of our people, plants and animals in the pieces! Sue Medaris also designed our "Play with Your Food" t-shirts this year. We absolutely love them both, and their work, and if you've been to our farmhouse, you've already seen a lot of it framed on the walls. The show runs thru September 6, but we'll be there tonight from 6 to 8pm for snacks. Here's the artists' description of the show:
S.V. Medaris and Alicia Rheal have been raising animals for food and as models for their artwork for over a decade, exploring the relationship humans have with the animals raised for consumption as well as those cared for in companionship. By using wooden cut-outs of life-size livestock, and traditional paintings and prints mounted to block-printed fabric wallpaper–all elements depicting the different seasons on the farm–the imagery leads the viewers sequentially from spring to summer to the fall harvest as visitors walk the length of the gallery. Reception: Friday, July 11, 6-8PM, Gallery 1 (1sr floor), and refreshments in the Promenade Lounge and join us on the newly renovated Memorial Union Terrace afterwards. 8:30pm till ...
And here's what's in the box:
Fruits of the Forest – The berry harvest continues! This week we tramped the fields and forests roundabout to bring you a terrific little harvest of special sweet treats. Our hands are stained purple with juice and our tummies are happy. Hope you enjoy eating them as much as we enjoyed the hikes. Blackcap raspberries, white and black mulberries, red currants and blushed gooseberries. We’ve got some great recipe ideas for you on the website and the Farmer Kriss Pinterest page. If you still have some rhubarb, combine them with the berries and make our delicious Farmstead Fruit of the Fields Cheesecake.
Dill – You’ve each got a head or two of flowered out dill. This has the same flavor as the leaves and is quite pretty to garnish fish or cheese dip with. Snip it into tiny mini-florets over an omelette. Store in a vase in the fridge.
Basil – Basil season is here! Slightly ahead of the tomatoes, which is pretty typical, but you should see cherry tomatoes in the next boxes. You should have enough basil to make your first round of pesto! There is a basic recipe here and more pesto recipes on the Farmer Kriss Pinterest Page. Add sorrel for a nice zesty version. We personally love pesto on just about everything, but more often these days we've been hoarding the basil for fresh Lao- and Thai-influenced soups, spring rolls and curries.
Mints: Pepper and Chocolate – This is the first harvest of the peppermint, and though you’ve already had the chocolate, we thought it would be fun to compare them side by side. Add to lemonade, or snip into fruit salad, or check out the fun White Chocolate Mousse recipe at the Box 3 Recipe Blog. Or, go savory and snip mint into your Asian recipes. Check out the spring rolls at Madison's Lao Laan-Xang for a great combo of mint, basil and cilantro. Try the spring rolls with Laotian sausage - amazing!
Sorrel – We are thankful the sorrel is still coming on so strong and fresh, because our lettuces keep getting so beat up in the storms that we have none to harvest. Sliced thin and drizzled with olive oil and white balsamic, sorrel makes a great salad. Shave some parmesan over the top and add some pine nuts for an Italian treat. British folks tend to cook their sorrel, and we like it that way, too.
Chives and Parsley – These two herbs are pretty much everyday seasonings. Great at breakfast, lunch and dinner, they are stapes of the fresh eating season. We recommend using the parsley stems as well as the leaves, since they are so sweet. But if you don’t like the texture, simply chop finely and save them to add to a soup. Or just use in our Pea and Shrimp Curry on the Recipe Blog!
Snow and Snap Peas – We can’t believe the length of this pea season! Most of the snap vines are still going strong, in spite of the strong winds and pelting rains we’ve had. They are trellised, but they hold on to the fencing themselves with very tiny little tendrils that are remarkably tough. Zip the strings off both sides of the round snaps and the flat snows. We tend to cook the snows in stir fries, cut into 1-inch pieces. And the snaps we eat fresh with Thai Peanut Dip. Lots of you who attended the first field-to-table dinner asked me for the recipe, and you can find that basic recipe below the Harvest List. I also put a wonderful Pea and Shrimp Curry recipe on the Recipe Blog that we made for crew lunch this week.
Broccoli (Full Shares Only) – This is just the first cutting of our sprouting broccoli. Removing these heads will cause the sides to shoot into dozens of spears. So Shorties Shares, you’ll get plenty, shortly.
Kale – Oh, these mixed kale bouquets are so delicious right now! Tender and sweet. You can enjoy them either raw in salad to cooked in a soup or curry or over pasta. Do you know how to massage your kale? Simply remove the ribs (I dip them in the Thai peanut sauce and eat them like a carrot) and cut the leaves into bite-size pieces. Place in your salad bowl and sprinkle with salt and your dressing of choice (I use straight balsamic reduction, but some folks like a creamy ranch or buttermilk), then use your hands to massage the dressing into the kale and let rest for about a half and hour before eating.
Bunched Baby Beets – Even if you aren’t a fan of beets, we hope these tiny babies will convert you! Every part of these, root, stem and leaves, is sweet and delicious lightly sautéed. Act like a chef, and simply chop the roots off with about 1 inch of stem. Rub these in a washcloth to get the dirt off, but don’t bother scrubbing or peeling. The skins are very tender. Then rinse and chop the remaining stems and leaves into bite-size pieces. Sautee everything in olive oil, then sprinkle with salt, pepper and crumbly goat or blue cheese. I had the good fortune to pass by Hook’s Cheese Factory in Mineral Point this week and picked up just three of their many amazing blues. Get out there and try the Little Boy Blue - it's sheep cheese!
Summer Onion (uncured) – Unlike fall onions, these are not cured with dry skins, so you will need to store them in the fridge.
Horseradish – If you like horseradish, this will be a real treat. If not, give the fresh stuff a shot. If still you just don’t enjoy it, make it a gift to someone who will really be impressed! Basically, you will peel, grate and than mix this with vinegar. We recommend using a food processor or even a blender. But the full directions are here.
LOTS of great recipes at the Farmer Kriss Pinterest Page this week, and some great desserts, dip and a curry on the Recipe Blog. Viva local food!
S.V. Medaris and Alicia Rheal have been raising animals for food and as models for their artwork for over a decade, exploring the relationship humans have with the animals raised for consumption as well as those cared for in companionship. By using wooden cut-outs of life-size livestock, and traditional paintings and prints mounted to block-printed fabric wallpaper–all elements depicting the different seasons on the farm–the imagery leads the viewers sequentially from spring to summer to the fall harvest as visitors walk the length of the gallery. Reception: Friday, July 11, 6-8PM, Gallery 1 (1sr floor), and refreshments in the Promenade Lounge and join us on the newly renovated Memorial Union Terrace afterwards. 8:30pm till ...
And here's what's in the box:
Fruits of the Forest – The berry harvest continues! This week we tramped the fields and forests roundabout to bring you a terrific little harvest of special sweet treats. Our hands are stained purple with juice and our tummies are happy. Hope you enjoy eating them as much as we enjoyed the hikes. Blackcap raspberries, white and black mulberries, red currants and blushed gooseberries. We’ve got some great recipe ideas for you on the website and the Farmer Kriss Pinterest page. If you still have some rhubarb, combine them with the berries and make our delicious Farmstead Fruit of the Fields Cheesecake.
Dill – You’ve each got a head or two of flowered out dill. This has the same flavor as the leaves and is quite pretty to garnish fish or cheese dip with. Snip it into tiny mini-florets over an omelette. Store in a vase in the fridge.
Basil – Basil season is here! Slightly ahead of the tomatoes, which is pretty typical, but you should see cherry tomatoes in the next boxes. You should have enough basil to make your first round of pesto! There is a basic recipe here and more pesto recipes on the Farmer Kriss Pinterest Page. Add sorrel for a nice zesty version. We personally love pesto on just about everything, but more often these days we've been hoarding the basil for fresh Lao- and Thai-influenced soups, spring rolls and curries.
Mints: Pepper and Chocolate – This is the first harvest of the peppermint, and though you’ve already had the chocolate, we thought it would be fun to compare them side by side. Add to lemonade, or snip into fruit salad, or check out the fun White Chocolate Mousse recipe at the Box 3 Recipe Blog. Or, go savory and snip mint into your Asian recipes. Check out the spring rolls at Madison's Lao Laan-Xang for a great combo of mint, basil and cilantro. Try the spring rolls with Laotian sausage - amazing!
Sorrel – We are thankful the sorrel is still coming on so strong and fresh, because our lettuces keep getting so beat up in the storms that we have none to harvest. Sliced thin and drizzled with olive oil and white balsamic, sorrel makes a great salad. Shave some parmesan over the top and add some pine nuts for an Italian treat. British folks tend to cook their sorrel, and we like it that way, too.
Chives and Parsley – These two herbs are pretty much everyday seasonings. Great at breakfast, lunch and dinner, they are stapes of the fresh eating season. We recommend using the parsley stems as well as the leaves, since they are so sweet. But if you don’t like the texture, simply chop finely and save them to add to a soup. Or just use in our Pea and Shrimp Curry on the Recipe Blog!
Snow and Snap Peas – We can’t believe the length of this pea season! Most of the snap vines are still going strong, in spite of the strong winds and pelting rains we’ve had. They are trellised, but they hold on to the fencing themselves with very tiny little tendrils that are remarkably tough. Zip the strings off both sides of the round snaps and the flat snows. We tend to cook the snows in stir fries, cut into 1-inch pieces. And the snaps we eat fresh with Thai Peanut Dip. Lots of you who attended the first field-to-table dinner asked me for the recipe, and you can find that basic recipe below the Harvest List. I also put a wonderful Pea and Shrimp Curry recipe on the Recipe Blog that we made for crew lunch this week.
Broccoli (Full Shares Only) – This is just the first cutting of our sprouting broccoli. Removing these heads will cause the sides to shoot into dozens of spears. So Shorties Shares, you’ll get plenty, shortly.
Kale – Oh, these mixed kale bouquets are so delicious right now! Tender and sweet. You can enjoy them either raw in salad to cooked in a soup or curry or over pasta. Do you know how to massage your kale? Simply remove the ribs (I dip them in the Thai peanut sauce and eat them like a carrot) and cut the leaves into bite-size pieces. Place in your salad bowl and sprinkle with salt and your dressing of choice (I use straight balsamic reduction, but some folks like a creamy ranch or buttermilk), then use your hands to massage the dressing into the kale and let rest for about a half and hour before eating.
Bunched Baby Beets – Even if you aren’t a fan of beets, we hope these tiny babies will convert you! Every part of these, root, stem and leaves, is sweet and delicious lightly sautéed. Act like a chef, and simply chop the roots off with about 1 inch of stem. Rub these in a washcloth to get the dirt off, but don’t bother scrubbing or peeling. The skins are very tender. Then rinse and chop the remaining stems and leaves into bite-size pieces. Sautee everything in olive oil, then sprinkle with salt, pepper and crumbly goat or blue cheese. I had the good fortune to pass by Hook’s Cheese Factory in Mineral Point this week and picked up just three of their many amazing blues. Get out there and try the Little Boy Blue - it's sheep cheese!
Summer Onion (uncured) – Unlike fall onions, these are not cured with dry skins, so you will need to store them in the fridge.
Horseradish – If you like horseradish, this will be a real treat. If not, give the fresh stuff a shot. If still you just don’t enjoy it, make it a gift to someone who will really be impressed! Basically, you will peel, grate and than mix this with vinegar. We recommend using a food processor or even a blender. But the full directions are here.
LOTS of great recipes at the Farmer Kriss Pinterest Page this week, and some great desserts, dip and a curry on the Recipe Blog. Viva local food!
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