Summertime

Summer is officially here and so is the heat! The garden is soaking up the sunlight on these ultra-long days and growing fast.

In Fields 2 and 3 are potatoes, garlic, onions and various cover crops. Nearby are the two greenhouses. The old greenhouse in front is home to the tomatoes and the new greenhouse behind is still where seedlings mature before moving out to the field as transplants.

Through the roll-up sides of the old greenhouse (put up in the daytime for ventilation and put down at night for warmth) you can see the tomatoes are getting tall.

Inside view of the tomatoes growing up the string trellises.

Tomatoes!

In Field 1 are the peas, broccoli, eggplant, radishes, lettuce, spinach, bok choy, kohlrabi, beans, turnips, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, corn, carrots and beets. Most of the mid-late summer veggies are still small but growing by leaps and bounds every day.

Lettuce is one of the first late spring veggies to appear and we've been eating it for the past couple of weeks. It's so exciting to start digging into fresh garden produce after a long winter of root cellar veggies, preserves and pickles and the few things we buy at the grocery store. I'm never disappointed at the amazing taste of the food our land gives us.

Veggies aren't the only thing growing at the farm this season. Baby #3 is due to arrive in two months with all my late summer favorites like corn, peppers and zucchini.

The kids have started their own little garden in the front near the house. They check daily on the progress of the cherry tomatoes, beans, peppers, cucumbers, peas, carrots and lettuce. There's also a small corn plot nearby.

Stay cool during these sweltering days! Visit our CSA page for info on our local pick-up options.

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Recipe: Winter Radish Salad

Strikingly beautiful black radishes are larger and spicier than your usual May radish, but the long, cool nights of fall give them a sweetness and soft texture. They get milder tasting when cooked and are pretty intense raw, however rubbing slices with salt and letting them sweat for 10 minutes or so takes some of the heat off. Grating or cutting into thin slices or matchsticks is the best way to prepare raw winter radishes, and they go fantastically well with salads of all sorts. A simple vinaigrette is the finishing touch.

Ingredients:
Salad:
- 3 medium size black radishes
- 1 large or 2 small carrots
- 4-5 stems of parsley
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
Dressing:
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp minced ginger
- 1 garlic clove, minced

Steps:
1) Grate radishes with largest size grater and place in a small bowl. Add salt and mix well. Leave to soften while you prep the other ingredients.

2) Grate carrots with largest size grater. Finely chop parsley and combine with carrots.

3) Mix dressing ingredients.

4) Squeeze excess water out of radishes and move to a colander. Rinse well and add to salad bowl with carrots and parsley.

5) Add sesame seeds and dressing and mix well. Let rest for 5 minutes to allow flavours to mix and then serve.

This is our final recipe of the 2015 season. We will start up again with weekly recipes featuring the seasonal bounty of the farm in June 2016. Until then, we'll be blogging about life on the farm in the off season - the work never ends!

Thanks to all our CSA members for supporting the farm this year!

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Recipe: Creamy Garlic Scape Dressing

The curly green stems that garlic plants send up in June and July have a mild flavour with a hint of garlicky bite. Eaten cooked or raw they are versatile and delicious. You can try a classic garlic scape pesto, throw them on the grill for a summer BBQ or use them wherever you might want a fresher, slightly sweet version of garlic's taste. Here I made a creamy yogurt salad dressing to compliment an early summer salad.

Ingredients:

Salad
- lettuce
- radishes
- Hakurei turnips

Dressing
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp plain yogurt
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3-4 garlic scapes, chopped

Steps:

1) Prepare salad ingredients and set aside in a salad bowl.

2) Coarsely chop garlic scapes and add to blender with other dressing ingredients and puree.

3) Check consistency of dressing while pureeing. If you prefer a creamier dressing, add a bit more yogurt, for a thinner dressing add some water. Extra dressing will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

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Recipe: Pickled Radishes

Crunchy, spicy radishes are one of my favorite spring veggies. Mostly I eat them raw in salads or just grab a handful from the fridge to munch. To explore some of the softer flavours in radishes you can try them butter braised or pickled. This quick and easy pickle mellows their peppery bite and is delicious in sandwiches or salads. Try setting out a jar at lunch or dinner and let everyone heap a spoonful of pickled radishes onto their plates - they are a great accompaniment to just about any savory meal.

Ingredients:

- 6-8 radishes, trimmed
- 3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tsp. salt
- 3 tbsp. honey

Steps:

1. Use a sharp knife or a mandoline (carefully!) to slice radishes into thin discs.

2. Mix brine ingredients (vinegar, water, salt and honey) in saucepan and set on medium-low heat. Stir while heating until just dissolved, about 1-2 minutes.

3. Put garlic in the bottom of a clean 1 L jar and pack all the radishes in on top.

4. Pour brine in over the radishes. Make sure it's not too hot, you don't want to cook the radishes. They should be completely covered by the brine so add extra water if needed.

5. Let cool until room temperature and then refrigerate for 24 hours before eating. Expect to see a lovely pink hue within an hour or so as the brine starts to work its magic on the radishes.

This pickle will last 3-4 weeks in the fridge, assuming you don't devour it first.

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Recipe: Kohlrabi Slaw

Kohlrabi is a crunchy veggie with a delicate flavour that can be eaten raw or lightly cooked (steamed or fried). Being a brassica, it's in the same family as cabbage and broccoli and its taste is reminiscent of both. In this spring version of coleslaw, mild kohlrabi pairs with the slight bite of raw radishes in a vinegary dressing enhanced by honey, sesame and ginger flavours.

Ingredients:

Slaw:
2 kohlrabi, peeled and either julienned or coarsely grated
5 small-to-medium radishes, either julienned or coarsely grated
3/4 cup crushed unsalted peanuts
(optional) 1 bunch scallions, chopped

Dressing:
2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp honey
1 tsp minced ginger

Steps:

1) Peel and then grate kohlrabi with coarsest setting. You can also cut into matchsticks with a sharp knife or a mandoline.

2) Grate (or cut) radishes in the same way and add to the kohlrabi.

3) Mix dressing ingredients together thoroughly and pour onto salad.

4) Mix in peanuts and serve immediately.

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Recipe: Butter Braised Radishes

Our first harvest goes out to our CSA members this week and so we're celebrating with our first recipe of the season. Hooray for radishes!

Butter Braised Radishes

The sharp taste of raw radishes is great in salads or for a snack. Cooking them lightly in butter (or fat of your choosing) softens their harsh bite and makes for a lovely side dish to accompany a late spring dinner.

Ingredients:

- 1 cup of radishes
- 1-2 tsp butter
- sprig of mint
- salt to taste

Steps:

1. cut radishes into quarters