Grandma Comes to Visit and Rattatouli

This past week my grandma came to visit. She is retired now after many decades of hard work, so I invited her up for a relaxing week of hanging out with me. HA! She helped me out all week, harvesting garlic and melons, picking veggie boxes, feeding chickens, and everything in between. Here's the highlights.

The week she came it was hot! Like 95*+ kind of hot with 30% humidity to boot. She was a good sport, but it was a lot to ask. We went to the thrift store at the beginning of the week to pick her out a snazzy outfit for the farm. There is nothing more miserable than not being prepared with lightweight, light colored clothes that fit decently. Here she is demonstrating the side effect of silliness that the drudgery of digging garlic can induce. 

Here is half of our harvest; partially cured and re-stored in a watermelon tub. If we're lucky two of these tubs will last us through winter. 

This is our friend we made in the melons. I wanted a better picture but didn't want to pick it up because I was afraid of being bit. My grandma teased me and said "they don't bite, don't be a ninny. Just grab it behind the head!" Which she did, and of course got bitten. Miss mantis went on her merry way. 

Here my grandma is showing me her best melon toss. If you're looking for a good workout, come help us harvest melons! We pick and pile first, then toss as someone catches and loads on the tractor. (*note-do not throw a melon like this! This was a posed picture!)

My grandma helped me pick this bounty for the Sacramento Food Bank.  She helped me deliver them the next day too!

We did take the weekend off- and actually take it "off". No farm work, no thinking about farm work. God it was beautiful! I share these not to brag, but I suppose to remind you I am human and not a farming machine! My grandma had never been to Napa or gone wine tasting- so we took her to experience it all!

We went to one of our favorite wineries: Vincent Arroyo. Here is my lovely wife Tarra in the barrel room tasting a future. 

My grandma met "Nameless" the cat that belongs to the winery. They have a wine for his namesake. It's pretty delicious!

Tarra and I at Francis Ford Coppola winery for dinner. It's a great restaurant with an amazing view. 

My grandma was not super into wine tasting, but she really loved dinner. 

Tarra and I are in front of the Bale Grist Mill in Napa. Great tour and really great grain products.   I guess we didn't really stray too far from farming with all the wine "research" and touring of grist mills...I like what I like I guess! 

My grandma had also never been to San Francisco.  We did the normal touristy things like stop by Pier 39 to see Alcatraz, the seals, the Golden Gate and all the street performers. 

We marched uphill from the Warf all the way to Lombard Street. On the way we found this view.  I was thankful for my farm muscles!

We also made the obligatory sourdough stop. We needed fuel to make the walk up Lombard and then down, and then up again to China Town. Oh, and then the trek to the Embarcadero Theatre to see Boyhood. The theatre has individual leather La-Z-Boy recliners and a wine bar and real food- it's really the only way to watch a 3 hour movie. 

My grandma left satisfied with her trip, and probably really happy to get home so she could sleep. We kept her up all week with farm potlucks, Midtown Out Loud, movies, big dinners- all done after a days work on the farm. I suppose I'll sleep when I'm dead...

This week's recipe is a family favorite. I made it for my grandma along with cous cous and hummus, and she loved it! She's a notorious meat and potatoes kind of girl, so I took this as a vote of confidence for this recipe to be universally loved. Also, this is the official recipe from the movie- use of talking rat is optional.

Rattatouli

2 medium eggplant
3 summer squash
3 tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 bell pepper
4-7 cloves garlic
olive oil
fresh thyme

Preheat oven to 375*. Slice all veggies as thin as possible- use a mandolin if possible, if you don't have one- get one- it'll change your life. Keep veggies stacked as you slice- it'll help during assembly. Get a baking dish and start assembling! Make any kind of pattern with your veggies, maybe: 3 slices eggplant, 3 summer squash, one slice onion, 1 slice bell pepper. When you've finished tucking veggies into amazing art, tuck thyme and garlic in between the folds and drizzle generously with olive oil. Bake until veggies are soft and begin to brown and wilt a bit.

Variations:
-Layer the bottom of the dish first with a partially cooked grain, then stack veggies on top
-Add some ricotta or mozzarella
-Serve with cheesy polenta
-Use flavored olive oil or nut oils
-Drizzle with balsamic reduction or pomegranate molasses

Enjoy! Let me know what you think!

Summer Harvest and The Tale of Two Summer Salsas

This week we're harvesting garlic. I would love to have a picture to share, but between the weeds, the digging, the smoke from the Berreyessa fire, and the 20-30% humidity, I have managed to not remember to snap one. It's hot, dirty work. The nice thing about it though, once we have all 3 lines in the two beds dug, we'll have garlic enough for all our needs until January. The other really nice thing is I traded tomatoes in Tahoe a few weeks back with another vendor in exchange for the sea-sponges he sells; so at the end of the day, the dirt, sweat and grime has few defenses. Sometimes the only thing pulling me through is the thought of a shower and cold beer at the end of the day. It's the small things.

A large chunk of summer days are spent harvesting. It's pretty rewarding plucking the literal fruits of your labor from the vine and watching the boxes stack up. It's really the best part, plucking only the best fruits from the plants, ignoring all the sunburnt, blossom end rotted, mosaic virus stricken, bug eaten, squirrel eaten, rotten on the vine ones, and filling the box full of the ripest, most fragrant food the earth has to offer. It's beautiful from there on out: bound for market, the stand, or a veggie box to be presented, prepared, consumed, shared and enjoyed.

Here is a full box of the good tomatoes- golds and reds. Next to it are the not so nice ones I mentioned earlier. No sense leaving them; we collect them in a bucket once we're done picking and toss them to the chickens. Funniest thing in the world is watching the ducks go crazy eating tomatoes! Our feathered friends turn mush and bugs into eggs for us. It's a pretty good deal.

This is what happens when a tomato gets sunburned. Much like you or I, their flesh is tender and can't stand direct sun. It discolors and withers. It's fine for sauce-making as the really bad parts can just be cut off. Sunburn is common with most fruit. It can happen when a plant's canopy doesn't develop adequately, they didn't get staked and strung properly, or with peppers and eggplant, they weren't shaded.

We're moving on now to planting fall things. Today we planted 6 rows of butternut squash, and two "oddball" rows with things like acorn, spaghetti, hubbard, and the like. A few days back we put in our Jack-o'-lantern and pie pumpkins. Our last round of melons and tomatoes are in, and next year's strawberries are in a box and on their way! Here is Byron last week helping me finish up the dirt work in preparation for our fall planting:

Best floofy farm dog I've ever known.

This week's recipe(s) are aimed at keeping your stove off! This first one might be a bit of a stretch for some, but I promise it's delicious! It's versatile, so please improvise, but delicious as is, so give it a try!

Cucumber Salsa

1 extra large or 2 small cukes-diced

1 lb tomatoes, diced

1 C spring onion, minced

2 limes, juiced and zested

2 cloves garlic, minced

Herbs (cilantro, mint, etc.)

Salt

Drizzle of olive oil

Prep all veggies and mix in a bowl. Let salsa sit overnight…if you can help yourself. Serve with chips!

Variations:

-Add yogurt serve on gyros or Middle Eastern spiced chicken

-Substitute mango for tomatoes

-With mangos, add rose water and rose petals

-Add hot peppers

This next one is a staple in our household. It never lasts long, so be prepared.

Tomatillo Salsa Verde

1 lb tomatillos

10 dry chile arbol peppers

2 cloves garlic

Dry roast all of these. Get your cast iron good and hot- 5 minutes on medium high (no oil!). While the pan heats, husk and rinse the tomatillos. Toss them in and let them partially blacken on each side. Remove. Add in arbol peppers. Toast quick! Keep an open window and don't breathe heavily over pan! They will choke you if you aren't paying attention and burn them! Remove once lightly toasted. Add garlic cloves in paper and toast. Remove wrapping from garlic and stem from chilies. Place all ingredients in blender and GO! It's much better the next day, but get the chips ready! 

Variations-

-Use fresh hot peppers

-Add avocado

-Use as a cooking sauce for meats or on top of enchiladas

-Stir into tortilla soup 

Let me know how it all turns out!

Just a Note and Tender Heat Tabbouleh

We're out of the fire for the moment. Nothing is at risk of being completely lost. I feel almost like I can breathe...almost. Summer so far has been a hard grind. More sunlight hours means I can stay longer, and find myself doing just that. I've lost 15 pounds in two months. I just keep telling myself that this is the first year, the first full summer, it'll be easier next time. One can wish anyway.

Summer's bounty has started to pour in. Large colorful fruits are swelling on the vine, dragon flies are swarming, and the bunnies have taken their cue to begin mating like, well, bunnies. We've had some things work adequately, others not so much. It's an o.k. year so far, better than last, but I'm holding out hopes for next year.

In the meantime, here is this to entertain you:

I found this gopher snake trying to eat a chicken egg. It was obviously not going to happen for him. I wouldn't mind sharing an egg or two with beneficial snake friends, I just wish he would get to work on all the gophers...

This is what happens when you turn your back on summer squash for a few days. It becomes pretty inedible with thick, pithy flesh and hard seeds. Chickens loved it though!

The recipe this week is a creative take on tabbouleh. I personally hate parsley and find bulgar to be dry. This recipe allows for personal preferences and adds some more early summer veggies to the mix.

Tender Heart Tabbouleh

1-2 Cups cooked grain (I prefer quinoa)
1 lb tomatoes, diced
1/4 lb tomatillos, dry roasted* and quartered
1 small cabbage (~2-3C), shredded
1 Bunch green onions
1/2 Bunch basil
1 Bunch mint
Olive oil
2 lemons, juiced and zested

Prep all ingredients and toss together! Salad is better the next day! 
*Heat a cast iron skillet dry for 5 minutes on medium heat. Toss in husked and rinsed tomatillos. Cook on each side until partially blackened. Inside should be soft but not mush. Toast 'em hot and fast!

This salad is nothing but versatile. Here are some suggestions to shake things up:

-Add Aleppo pepper or Harissa
-Add roasted red pepper
-Serve on a bed of lettuce
-Use cherry tomatoes
-Add garbanzo beans and feta for a full meal
-Omit basil and mint and use cilantro and parsley
-Use flavored olive oils

Use what you have! Use what you like! Do anything- just keep adding more veggies!