STRAWBERRIES!!!!!1!

It's that time of year again! Strawberries! I blogged last year about how We grow strawberries, which you can read here as well as enjoy an adventurous recipe for strawberry soda, so this year I wanted to talk about how strawberries themselves grow. It's pretty magical that a flower turns into a fat, red, ripe, juice berry. I'll take you down this pictorial journey then share an amazing recipe for strawberry pie!

If you come visit our farm anytime in April-June you're likely to run into this fancy sign somewhere. There are a few signs leading up to it helping people find their way from the parking lot to our U-Pick berry plot.

The first step a plant takes to creating it's fruit is a flower. These beauties glow a radiant white that contrasts so beautifully against the black plastic and the green leaves.

The bees can't resist their radiant beauty. They can be found buzzing away happily in the berry plot all season. Here is one coming in for a landing.

Busy bee doing very important pollination work.

Once the bee has done her work and the flower is pollinated, the petals dry up and fall off.

The flowers center begins to swell and develop seeds. Strawberries are an odd fruit in that their seeds are on the outside.

Most plants have berries and flowers at many different stages all at once. It seems like a berry that isn't ripe in the morning, will ripen up by evening, so there is always something to pick! Wednesdays or really early Friday is best. Weekends are usually our busiest, so by Sunday afternoon, there isn't much left. We're open 24 hours, so, if you'd like to U-pick and watch the sunrise- go for it! you'll have the berry patch to yourself!

The first berries of the season are always the largest. We grow only Chandler's, a variety developed by UCD for U-pick. They ripen fully red and are tender and juicy. This makes them delectable fresh, but horrible at shipping. They end up mush when in transit...so fresh picked is the only way! I usually don't have to tell people to eat them quick, they're so delicious, they don't last that long!

I sometimes pick a basket of berries for our farm boxes as a treat. Though, I once did enjoy U-pick, but I-pick as my job is not as fun so I don't let people get used to always having a basket picked by me. It's a lot of work to pick 12 baskets in one day! 

 This recipe is so awesome. It makes the best use of seasonal produce: citrus and berries. I do reccomend letting the custard set for the full time.... I didn't and the strawberries made it melt. Not that it wasn't delicious, it was just...melty. Also, do what you want so far as crust. I can't ever make it work so I buy the whole wheat spelt ones from the co-op in the frozen isle. Maybe you're cooler than me and can make it happen- this pie would be amazing with a graham (ooh or chocolate graham) cracker crust. But, do what you can!

 

Strawberry Lemon Pie  

1 pie crust- blind baked

Custard:

1 C sugar

10 TBS butter

4 eggs

1/2 C lemon juice

zest of 2 lemons

Bring out your double boiler. Don't have one? Get a wide, low pot fill half way with water and stack a metal or glass bowl on top (DON'T be lame and use plastic). BAM now you're double boiling! Toss everything in and bring water to boil and cut the heat back to maintain a slight simmer in the water . Whisk the curd gently until it becomes thick and the first bubble forms. Don't let it boil, you'll scramble the egg, and it will be eww. Strain through a fine mesh (like a tea strainer)- or don't, I didn't there are just cooked egg bits that will set. Place in a new bowl, cover with a lid or wrap and let set for two hours or make this a day ahead. 

When custard is set, spoon it into the cooled blind baked pie shell and smooth out with a spatula.

Slice up a whole boat load of berries and stack them on top of the custard. If you want to be fancy, melt some chocolate and pour over, maybe dust with cocoa powder or powdered sugar...just go for it! I personally heated up some strawberry cardamom jam I made last year and poured it on top. You could even go with some whipped cream?! 

Let me know how it turns out!

Early Season Tomatoes and TWO Great Ways to Enjoy Greens!

Even though spring is a ways away, man, it sure feels like it's here! We have strawberries earlier than we ever have, the "March" winds started in February, and it's 70* outside!? So weird. Well, it would seem weird to tell you our tomatoes have been in the ground for nearly 3 weeks had I told you this maybe 5 years ago...but maybe with it being so warm, it's not at all surprising.

We do early season tomatoes. Like, really early season tomatoes. They get seeded in January, put out mid February, and if all goes well, we have the only local tomatoes on the market for three weeks. Which is amazing for us, IF it works.

OMG Ashley, don't tell everyone your secret! Isn't everyone going to do this? Then you'll lose your early tomato to market niche! Likely not. The work, resources, and risk make this type of crop really unappealing. I've never liked gambling, but here we are...

Below are some pictures that I'll use to show you how we tempt the gods.

The first, super important element to this process is black plastic mulch. It can raise the soil temperature by 10*F! So if the soil is a cool 50* everywhere else, under the plastic it'll be 60*! Tomatoes are warm season plants and won't do well if it's cold, so this is vital. The other thing this mulch offers is weed supression. Don't get me wrong, weeds will still find a way! Every tiny pinhole is an invitation for bindweed and that big hole around the tomato is going to be weed city in a few weeks.

These hoops are the second big thing. They're going to keep the floating row cover off the plants. The row cover will add another 5*, so with plastic and cover, that's a difference of 15*. It won't save the plants from a hard frost, but it will keep them growing, slowly.

This is the secret ingredient to extra great tomatoes. Friends! My good friend Kelly came out to help and made what is always a really tough, long day really lovely!

Here Kelly is demonstrating good form on pounding stakes. Thes stakes have a specially drilled angular hole that a j-hook slides into catching the rope strung along the bottom edge of the row cover. It's kind of a large scale anchor stitch one might do in embroidery. It does a great job holding the cloth down in the wind. Unless it doesn't...and the string breaks or the cloth rips and you have to go out in 40+mph wind and repair string or use the terrible black clips.

Once all the stakes are pounded in, the hooks inserted to hold down the row cover, you're almost done! you will notice here there are two wind breaks on the left side of each triplet cover (there are three beds of tomatoes under each cover). This is tricky business too. Stakes hold and pinch another type of cloth that does a great deal of work "breaking" the wind over the beds (wind-break...get it!?). This is what hope looks like to a farmer. These will come off in 3-5 weeks depending on weather. It MUST come off when the plants start to flower. The pollinators and wind need to get to the plants- or there will be no tomatoes! When that happens, we'll prune, stake and string these guys up and come early June- TOMATOES! (hopefully...)

Kelly made a tiny lizard friend at beer time when all the work was done. Our farm is home to a great many vertebrates, and this one is absolutely welcome. They have a big appetite for bugs, spiders, slugs and the like. Eat up friend!

I believe he was coming close so he could thank Kelly for her hard work...maybe...

This week, I realize I am behind and owe you some recipes! Fine, how about TWO ways to enjoy greens?! The first one will hopefully cure some late winter blues and will take your taste buds on a mini vacation to summertime!

Greens Pesto

2 bunches leafy greens

2 bunches assorted herbs

3 green onions

1 1/2 cups olive oil

1/2 cup toasted nuts

3-4 cloves garlic

salt

Chop leathery greens up, but otherwise, toss in a food processor and enjoy! 

Last night for dinner I ate this pesto (with collards, cilantro, parsley, dill, green onion, almonds and the rest) on top of cheesy polenta topped with bacon and tomato braised cabbage, onions, and broccoli. It tasted like comfort food, but was super healthy. 

 

This next recipe is one of my favorites. Yes, it is Indian food, it takes a lot of spices you may not have, no, don't leave them out, and it takes a few more steps than you are maybe used to. Go to the co-op and buy bulk spice, DO NOT WASTE MONEY AT A GROCERY STORE BUYING SPICES. They're also grossly old at big stores anyway, so eww. Come borrow mine even! recipe first, get everything measured out first, then follow the directions carefully, and you will be rewarded with the most delicious curry that is so super healthy!

Palak Panner

1 lb greens (spinach, chard, kale, collards, mustard, anything!)

1" fresh ginger

2 green chilies

1 knob ghee

1 tsp cumin

2 bay leaves

1 onion, minced

1 tsp turmeric

chile/cayenne powder- to taste

1/2 cup water

1 tsp garam masala

splash of cream/soy milk (plain)

paneer cheese or tofu

Remove tough stems from greens if any. Boil briefly (1 minute for soft greens like spinach or chard, maybe two for kale and collards). Drain and drop into a food processor with ginger and chilies. Puree. In a good skillet, lob a hunk of ghee or butter in the pan and toss cumin seeds and bay leaf in until the seeds *POP*SNAP*CRACKLE* then toss in minced onion until the onion is a nice golden color. put in chile powder and turmeric and add puree to pan. Add water and cook for 6-8 minutes until the mixture thickens a bit. Add garam masala and kill the heat. Stir in a splash of cream/soy milk and your cheese or tofu. Serve with brown rice and, DELICIOUS!