Hello Corn!

We are just past the mid-point of summer and that marks the start of corn season. Tall, tassel-headed corn is all around us, both in our garden and in the countless cornfields nearby that we drive past daily.

A ubiquitous August sight in rural Southern Ontario.

Unfortunately, the raccoons and crows have also noticed our corn so it's been a bit of battle. Eric wrapped an extra row of electric fencing around the corn to keep out the ground assault, and today he and Rose built a scarecrow to fend off the airborne pests.

Scarecrow outfitted by Winners, Modcloth and Old Navy. In other words, I own the lion's share of clothes in the relationship (plus Eric wears his clothes to shreds). — Scarecrow outfitted by Winners, Modcloth and Old Navy. In other words, I own the lion's share of clothes in the relationship (plus Eric wears his clothes to shreds).

We had our very first taste of this year's corn at dinner last night with some of the runts and oddly shaped ears that won't make it into the boxes. The kids are expert huskers, which is great because I hate husking. Get to your Husking Station, girls!

At the Husking Station (our back step) with a bucket for the husks and two bowls for the corn (before and after).

Look for corn to make it into the boxes in the next two weeks. How long it lasts depends on how successful we are in fighting off the hungry pests!

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Recipe: Cucumber Watermelon Salad

A refreshing salad that underscores the sweetness of summer watermelon with salty cubes of feta is perfect for when the heat hits hard. Cucumber adds crunch and basil is fragrant and delicious, although mint would work very well here too. We lingered over this salad with drinks and good friends while the kids chased each other around on a bright summer evening. It almost made me feel like summer could last forever...

Ingredients:
- 2 medium or 3 small cucumbers
- handful of basil
- 1/2 of a small watermelon
- 200 g feta cheese
- apple cider vinegar
- olive oil
- salt to taste

Steps:

1) Chop cucumbers and watermelon into small cubes.

2) Prep basil by washing gently and pulling leaves off the stem. This is a great task for young kitchen helpers like our friend, Laila.

3) Mix cucumber, watermelon and basil together with a sprinkle of salt. Drizzle with apple cider vinegar and olive oil and stir.

4) Chop feta into small cubes and add to salad. Mix gently and serve.

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Anticipating Tomatoes

Tomatoes are by far the thing I look forward to most in the growing season. We've been watching the green tomatoes ripen day by day in the heat of high summer, and at long last our anticipation is coming to an end as the first of the early varieties are ready to be harvested.

Rose took our friend and CSA member Emily out to see the cherry tomatoes today and taught her how to find the ones that are just right to eat. Emily learned to leave the green tomatoes alone and pick the juicy red ones that have attained that perfect level of sweetness.

What veggie do you most look forward to eating in-season?

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Recipe: Baked Zucchini Fritters

Zucchini is the perfect cross between the firm and meaty squash we eat in the fall and the juicy, tender veggies of the summer. This recipe takes full advantage of those delicious qualities and produces a light tasting yet substantial fritter. With pan-fried fritters I always start out excited to make them and then quickly get bored of standing at the stove flipping individual fritters every 2 minutes. Instead I use that early enthusiasm for fritters to spoon batter into muffin trays and pop them in the oven, where the fritters can all bake simultaneously without needing me to stand around holding a spatula.
The key to fritters that crisp up and turn golden brown is to thoroughly drain the excess water out of the zucchini before mixing it in the fritter batter. You will be surprised at just how much water a zucchini contains, and when in doubt you should give it another squeeze for good measure to get as much out as possible. These fritters are about as versatile as it gets. Serve hot with something savory like pulled pork or chickpea curry, or have it cold the next day with a chutney or cucumber raita.

Ingredients:
- 1 large or 2 medium zucchinis
- 2 scallions
- 3-4 garlic scapes
- 1/2-1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup flour
- fat or oil to grease the mini-muffin tray

Steps:

1) Grate zucchini using largest size grater.

2) Place grated zucchini in a strainer and sprinkle lightly with salt to help draw out water. Leave to drain for at least 10 minutes. Before using, squeeze as much water as possible out with your hands or in a cheesecloth.

3) Slice scallions thinly and finely chop garlic scapes.

4) Beat eggs and add drained zucchini (remember to give it several squeezes to thoroughly drain it), scallions, garlic scapes and salt.

5) Stir veggies and egg together until everything is coated in egg, then add the flour and mix well. The end result should have a chunky batter-like consistency.

6) Grease mini-muffin tray and spoon zucchini batter to fill muffin wells completely.

7) Bake at 400F for 20-25 minutes until tops are golden brown and a toothpick in the centre comes out clean. If using regular sized muffin trays you will need to bake for 40-50 minutes.

8) Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes on a rack. Can be eaten hot or cold.

I made the larger size version for dinner tonight heaped with pulled pork on top. Yum!

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Garden School: Year Two

Garden school is back again this year. Last year, it was mostly about bringing activities to the garden for Rose to do while I worked. This year, there has been quite a bit more interest from her in actually helping out, so I needed an activity that she could do. I got her started on some hand weeding as in my mind that seemed like a good fit for her. Grabbing and pulling something out of its original place and then throwing it somewhere else - is that not a natural kid activity?

Having grown up a city boy I don't have any background in raising a farm child, so I'm totally guessing much of the time. Unfortunately, hand weeding quickly grew monotonous and tiring for Rose, and the whining began in short order. I happened to be hoeing at the time and Rose wanted to try it, so I gave her my lightest hoe, which turned out to be just right for small hands.

She happily (and effectively) hoed an entire row of zucchini all by herself and then we did a row of lettuce together. So great was her enthusiasm that I promised I would save some hoeing for her for our next Garden School day.

Over the years I've often thought about a particular John Updike poem while hoeing, and have considered posting it many times. My day with Rose brought it to mind again but with an added perspective.

Hoeing

I sometimes fear the younger generation will be deprived
of the pleasures of hoeing;
there is no knowing
how many souls have been formed by this simple exercise.

The dry earth like a great scab breaks, revealing
moist-dark loam—
the pea-root's home,
a fertile wound perpetually healing.

How neatly the green weeds go under!
The blade chops the earth new.
Ignorant the wise boy who
has never rendered thus the world fecunder.

Seeing Rose take so quickly and naturally to hoeing gives another meaning to Updike's "younger generation" that I had never before considered. I had assumed before that he was simply writing about the paradigm shift in farming that happened in the first half of the 20th century, with increasing mechanization and the decline of hand tools like the hoe.

Now I wonder if hoeing was in fact a common child's activity on the farm, an introductory task that got the little ones out and involved in the farm family's primary economy. The era of massive farms controlled by fewer and fewer groups is relatively new, before that and stretching back thousands of years farming was a small scale family business, one that every member of the family participated in as soon as they were physically able. Was hoeing one of the early tasks of a farm kid?

I would be happy to hear from any historians (or grown up farm kids) who might know the answer, but to me it certainly seems like a great activity for the "younger generation" to do, both as an introduction to life on the farm, and as the meditative exercise in nature that Updike eulogizes.

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Recipe: Raw Kale Salad

While I mostly boil or roast kale, I've learned to appreciate the speediness and tastiness of preparing it raw by massaging it. This sounds like a strange thing to do, but it turns out that a little elbow grease and the right kind of dressing will break down and soften kale's tough fibers and cell walls much in the same way that cooking does. Any oil plus an acid (like a vinaigrette dressing) can be used to wilt raw kale with a few minutes of rubbing the dressed kale between your fingers. Even just marinating raw kale in vinaigrette for several hours in the fridge will soften it, but the massage method is my new favorite go-to prep for its speediness and simplicity.

Ingredients:
- handful of kale
- handful of basil
- 1/2 pint shelling peas
- 1/2 pint snow peas
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice
- 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tbsp. sesame seeds

Steps:

1) Place each leaf upside down (stem side up) and using a small, sharp knife cut the stem out.

2) Switch to a larger knife and slice kale into thin ribbons.

3) Place kale ribbons into salad bowl and add lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and olive oil. Massage for 2-3 min to tenderize. Put aside to continue softening while you prep the rest of the salad.

4) Slice basil into similarly sized ribbons and combine with both types of peas (snow peas coarsely chopped and shelling peas shelled).

5) Add all to salad bowl along with sesame seeds and mix well. Other seeds like pumpkin or hemp or nuts like walnuts or pine nuts are delicious possibilities too.

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Eva Mae Farm