Direct Seeding, Caprese, and Pho

Hey folks, you know what's up at this point. I'm totes busy, but this is important, so I am going to make the effort! This blog will be short, sweet, and educational. I am going to share 3, yes 3! recipes this blog. Things are changing quick as summer veggies are coming on! I want to make sure you're enjoying the bounties of summer! Please let me know if you try any and like (or hate) them!

But first, I'd like to share something about the farm first. I find food tastes better when it comes with a story!

There is a lot of direct seeding in the summer. There really isn't too much need for plants to be started in the green house and many summer plants, like the cucurbits, don't like their roots disturbed. Our seeding kit here has our high-tech seeder, a box we keep the seeds clean and organized to transport to the field, and some paper for a field map. The seeder is great for when you do amounts of small seed, say 10' of big seeds, that your other seeders won't even pick up. As a small farmer, you sometimes have to be clever; you're doing things on a bigger than garden scale so seed by seed crouched over isn't practical, but even small seeders aren't meant to handle such small amounts. This is where funnels duct taped to pvc pipe come in. Works like a charm!

I planted some amazing beans this summer. I tried some of these winged beans from a farmers market vendor last year and fell in love. I hope they work because I can't wait to share them with you!

Look how funny these guys are!

For big seeds, like squash here, scuffling a bit of dirt out of the way every two feed is perfect. The funnel planter allows you to do this with the pipe end, and drop seeds in without bending over. My knees are grateful. You'll notice we are planting into moist soil. Once the seeds are in I go back with a hoe and scratch about 1" of wet soil on top tamp it down, then scoot some dry soil on top for a dust mulch. The moist soil is for covering the seed to help it sprout, the patting down helps compact the soil so water will wick across, and the dust mulch helps keeps weeds down and crust away ( a bad crust will wick moisture away from the plant and up to the top where it is lost).

Here are squash "hills" ready to be covered! Who's excited for flying saucer squash? Patty pan? 8 ball?!

Here are the little beans just days later! Soon, they'll need to be trellised and will be making us dinner in no time at all! 

This week I want to share 3 recipes. Two are iterations of caprese, a summer staple in my house. It's magic to chop up dinner without lighting the stove! The third is Pho. It does require you to light a fire, but man, is it worth it! It is a slight interpretation of a recipe from My New Roots.

Caprese

Tomatoes- Sliced Thick

Fresh Mozzarella- Sliced

Basil- leaves and flowers

Olive oil

Assemble! Add toast and an egg for breakfast! Feel free to add: balsamic, onions, garlic,or  other herbs.

Eggplant Caprese

Grilled Eggplant

Dill

Ricotta Salata –or-

Feta

Olive oil

Grill Eggplant, assemble! Feel free to riff here too!  Smoke your eggplant! Change the herb, use minted yogurt! 

Pho

Broth:

2 lbs. / 1 kg onion (white, yellow, red…)

1.5 oz / 50g fresh ginger

1 Tbsp. fennel seeds

3 black cardamom pods (green cardamom also works)

3 star anise

5 whole cloves

½ tsp. black peppercorns

1 cinnamon stick

1 tsp. coriander seeds

Buckwheat Noodles
 

Boil in half a gallon of water with salt to taste. Strain after one hour of boiling. Add cooked Buckwheat noodles.

Add ins (chop and steam as desired):

Leafy greens (kale, spinach, chard, arugula, chois)

Crunchies (carrots, broccoli, kohlrabi, turnips, cabbage)

Soft Veg (tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms)

Green Onions (or spring onions, leek flowers)

Sprouts

Lime

Go to town! I like to cook my veggies first before adding, just to maintain the taste of the broth. Steam 'em, roast 'em, grill 'em, then toss 'em in! Feel free to add what you have on hand! For early summer try:

Basil, chard, spring onions, cabbage, zucchini, and tomatoes!