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!