Jessie Update

Many of you have asked about how Jessie is doing, since we don’t get to see you on CSA pick-up days anymore.  As requested, here is the update!

 Jessie is now 29 months, almost 2 and a half.  She’s turned into quite the talker.  She’s extremely observant and contemplative and sometimes I can’t believe the things that come out of her mouth.

 A few months ago, I was telling her about when she was just a little tiny baby and how someday she might be a mommy and have a baby of her own.  Her answer: “That would be something of a nuisance!”

 She’s very into imaginative play.  Right now she loves to make food and serve it to everyone.  “Mommy, do you want some donuts?”  “Papa, here’s some more syrup and cream for you!”  The “food” she serves up is either blocks, or sand and water from her sandbox, or a combination of both.

“Monie” is her special name for Grandma Jessie, shortened from Grandma O’Neal.  She calls her Grandma Parlette “Gramsie”; and she calls her Grandma Evans, Denny’s wife Jaclyn, “Conka”.  Not sure where that last one came from.  She spends 2-3 days a week with Conka, Gramsie comes up to watch her at least once a week, and Monie watches her usually on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons while I”m in Wenatchee and then at the Chelan Farmer’s Market.  So she gets lots of grandma time!  Virginia Palumbo has also spent time watching her this summer, and they formed a great bond, in particular over the new library books Virginia would bring her each week.  If you want to win Jessie’s heart, bring her a new book. 

Jessie is also very into taking care of her “babies”—Gigi, E, Neffa, Kiki, and her favorite, Mimi.  We are working on potty training with Jessie right now, and in turn Jessie is working on potty training all of her babies. 

Physically, Jessie is not quite so adventurous.  I feel pretty confident letting her play outside with minimal supervision, because she’s just too cautious to go near ledges, jump in the waterfall, or do anything that seems vaguely out of her reach.  She still doesn’t think she knows how to open a door (though she can).  And she has yet to attempt to climb out of her crib—though she certainly could if she tried!

Jessie gets out to help in the yard and in the fields once in a while—she’s an expert raspberry picker.   Her favorite job is watering though.  Give her the hose and she’ll water all the plants in the yard, then she’ll water her sandbox and all her toys, then she’ll water herself from head to toe. 

Usually it keeps her busy enough that I have enough time to throw dinner together!

Jessie doesn’t like to have per picture taken (She says, “I”m not up to pictures.”) so I don’t really have that many good ones, but I will attach a few anyway!

Sam Writes: Homegrown Tomatoes

“Money Can’t Buy True Love and Homegrown Tomatoes” by artist Jan Yatsko

Tracking my thoughts out in the field can be a curvy, jumpy, and lengthy trail of mental activity as I pick, set down, collect, sort… sometimes I need to redirect more of that energy to focusing on the picking, sorting, etc., but constantly being around super fantastic veggies and fruits gets me thinking.

A few years ago I read an article that traced the plight of that infamous supermarket tomato. You know the one: perfectly red, quite firm, almost entirely tasteless but cheap enough to justify, and probably from Mexico. As I read, my feelings about that supermarket tomato went from reluctant satisfaction, to undirected frustration and sadness, and finally to ridiculousness, the ultimate realization that though the tomato may be in front of me, I don’t really wish it so. But I still want a tomato! I had to confront myself and ask, what’s the alternative? I came up with two options: homegrown or from a nearby farm, and you could extend “nearby” to anywhere closer than Mexico if the local season isn’t producing tomatoes and you’re fiending. That got me to pondering the difference between homegrown and local, and what we’re producing here on the farm.

Guy Clark says money can’t buy homegrown tomatoes, so in that respect we’re not growing homegrown tomatoes. However, I am positive we’re growing the next best thing, just because you have to buy them. But is an exchange of money between producer and consumer the only thing separating our tomatoes from their homegrown glory? If we ignore that money thing, we can agree that they’re picked ripe, and they look, feel, smell, and taste oh so similarly to homegrown tomatoes. So much so that you should be able to fool 999 out of 1000 people at your dinner table about the source of the tomatoes in their salad, stew, juice, eggs, gravy, or beans (pinto or navy), as long as they haven’t noticed that you don’t have any tomato plants. As for that one person you’re not fooling: it’s you.

Everyone says, “Hmm, mmmm, wwooooww, nice tomatoes, these must be homegrown!” You reply, “Must they be? What makes a tomato homegrown? Is it simply their look, feel, smell, and taste?”  And you all launch off along a trail of exploring the intangibles of homegrown tomatoes. Some points you might come across along the way: your hands are clean now (maybe), but they were such a bugger to clean after spending an hour pruning and training your tomato plants that you had remnants of that strange green gunky crust* on your fingers for the next two days; you’ve been having nightmares that you pruned off the leader on all your plants and you will be stuck with tiny plants; you haven’t slept properly since you got the blood of a few Colorado potato beetles on your hands; you’ve been sleeping much better since you decided to squish what must surely be the entire army of Colorado potato beetles, hopefully erasing their existence altogether and easing your conflicted, usually-nonviolent mind; you’re in complete awe of how many damn Colorado potato beetles there are only a few days after that massacre; there is a pile of rotting tomatoes just outside of your garden under your neighbor’s hedges. And the trail continues to reveal itself well into dessert…

The current reality has it that all of us are not going to produce all of our own food every year, which is why farms like The Sunshine Farm exist. Wherever you fit along the spectrum of not growing any food to producing most of your own food, we try to fill the gaps in your diet. Additionally, if you want to try your hands at homegrown, we provide starter plants at the beginning of the summer to ease you into the journey. That certainly doesn’t make the difference between homegrown and local any clearer, but who cares! This trail is getting long, and it’s all good food anyways, which is really all we wanted in the first place. Time to relax, contentment is already here.

*For the interested, more about that strange green gunky crust you can’t seem to completely wash off of your skin after handling your tomato plants:  http://www.growingformarket.com/articles/green-powder-on-tomato-plants

Sam Writes: Raspberry Picking

The raspberry says,
Drink your wine, but forget not!
I too am sublime

We picked the season’s first few half-pints of raspberries last week. As with any new task in the field, I think about how to go about it most efficiently. Crouching down next to that first raspberry bush, instinct took over. I closed my eyes and stuck my head right into the bush! I mastered this technique as a child, when a very special place in my grandma’s yard would become full of ripe raspberries. Ask a kid to find berries, and he will find them…and eat them. I learned early on that there are always two buckets whenever you are picking berries: the communal one you’re holding, and the one between your nose and chin. So again, ask a kid to find berries, and don’t be surprised when he comes back with rosy mouth corners and an empty bucket in his hands. My mom, hoping to bring some berries home, compromised and came up with what became my mid-summer mantra – one in the bucket, two in the mouth. That was still a bit hopeful, but at least I learned to save some for later. I’m sure all it took was one bowl of ice cream with raspberries on top to get me to seriously consider putting more in the bucket in my hands. This is a very important moment in my life for you raspberry eaters. 

I haven’t picked many raspberries since my childhood, instead cavorting with thimbleberries, huckleberries, and anything else growing nearby. But here I come back to my oldest friend, and it tastes really good. However, this time I’m on the production end, where “success” is not measured by how many berries I get to eat later, bur rather by how many berries you get to eat later. Good thing my happiness is no longer attached to putting berries in my mouth. I am moving into the realm of happiness derived from bringing you all the finest food we can grow, raspberries included.

As the weather heats up and your motivation to move fades, come grab a half-pint or three in the market, and find a shady spot to sit and smile. Or is eating plain raspberries not your thing? What’s the matter with you?! Absolutely nothing! Get some ice cream and really chill out, or mix up a fruit salad, or butter up some toast and top it with honey and berries. Let your imagination go, it’s likely that raspberries will blend well with what you’re feeling in the moment. Check out some of the raspberry products our neighbors have come up with that we have in the market. As a sweet tooth, I’ve been digging on Anna’s Raspberry Creamed Honey and Honey Ridge Farms Raspberry Honey Créme.

Happy rosy mouth corners in the coming weeks!

Love,

Your rosy-fingered friend

Zucchini, Summer Squash, and Bulgur Salad with Fresh Parsley and Dill

1 1/4 cup water
1 cup bulgur (try the Emmer from Bluebird)
2 small or 1 medium zucchini, finely diced
2 small or 1 medium yellow summer squash, finely diced
1 bell pepper, stem and seeds removed, finely diced*
1/2 red onion, minced or 2 small sweet onions, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lime 
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Bring the water to a boil in a small pot, then add the bulgur.  Leave uncovered; cook the bulgur for 1 minute.  Remove the pot from the heat, cover, and set aside until the bulgur absorbed the rest of the water, about 15 minutes.

2. Fluff the cooked bulgur with a fork until the grains are well separated; transfer to a large bowl.  Add the zucchini, yellow squash, bell pepper, and onion.  Toss until well combined.

3. Whisk the dill, parsley, olive oil and lime juice in a small bowl.  Pour the dressing over the bulgur and toss until thoroughly combined.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese just before serving.  Serve at room temperature.  

Recipe from Farmer John’s Cookbook; The real dirt on vegetables.  

*I realize we are a little early to be talking about peppers in this recipe but everything else in the above recipe is ready for a perfect summer dish.  Give the peppers a few more weeks and then we will be in over our heads!  Though tomatoes and cucumbers are on the horizon!!

Purple Velvet Torte aka Chocolate Beet Cake

Now here’s a way to get your kids to eat their beets!

Purple Velvet Torte aka Chocolate Beet Cake  

2 ½ cups grated beets
1 cup agave
4 eggs
½ cup grapeseed oil or olive oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ cup cacao powder
½ teaspoon salt

In a medium saucepan, heat the beets and agave to a boil, then cover.  Reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, until beets are soft.  Transfer beet-agave mixture to a Cuisinart or Vitamix and puree on highest speed until smooth.  Blend in eggs, oil, vanilla, almond extract, cacao and salt until thoroughly incorporated.  Pour batter into a well greased 9 inch cake pan.  Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool and serve.

Suggestion:  I also simmered a pint of strawberries on the stovetop to scoop on top of each slice!