It's raining! At 7:30 pm Saturday night we have about 0.6 inches of rain. Our first rain in a long, long time.
New this week:
Watermelon: So thankful for this summertime treat! The Pioneer Woman - Watermelon Sals Lunchbox Peppers: Sweet and flavorful snack peppers. These beautiful, mini-sized peppers are delicious sautéed, as an addition to salads and, perfect for a healthy snack. 10 Ways to use sweet mini peppers Sicilian Eggplant- can be used the same way as regular eggplant. Maybe a little sweeter. So beautiful!
New this week: Shallots - A new crop for us. Onions and shallots are both members of the allium family. Shallots have a sweet and mild flavor, with a hint of garlic, and lack the bite you get with yellow or white onions. Shallots work well in dishes where they're eaten raw, like dressings and salads. Yellow and white onions have a more pungent flavor, but they soften and mellow as they cook, eventually taking on a lighter, sweeter flavor. Watermelon - This delicious summer treat has arrived! Cherry Hot Peppers - these are HOT! be careful! Recipe ideas to try: The Pioneer Woman - Watermelon Salsa Lemon Shallot Vinaigrette
Apples! from Schober Farm in Monroeville. They have a retail farm stand, I highly suggest visiting them for all your apple needs this fall! They have gorgeous apples.
Delicata Squash- This is a new winter squash for us this year. Like other winter squash Delicata can be stored for long periods of time, unlike other winter squash you can eat the skin. Fantastically rich and sweet.
Here is a link to a simple recipe of Roasted Delicata Squash.
Here is a link to a recipe for Stuffed Delicata Squash, I would swap out the spinach for kale!
Just normal kinda produce this week. Nothing too bizzare that requires an explanation.
The news of the week.
Sunday, June 30 around 12:30 we received 3.7 inches of rain in one hour.
It was a sight to see.
And then Monday was .5 inch more.
Rain. Rain. Rain.
For a total 13.5 inches in the last 30 days.
We are all a getting a little beat down and discouraged. It's hard to watch the crops that you have cared for and nurtured get damaged so harshly.
Today wagon load after wagon load of rotten melons were carted out of the field. It was just plain sad. The melons just don't like all this rain but the fungus and molds love it.
But do you know the cool thing about this photo-- it shows our resilient spirit. My husband and father-in-law are ever the optimists. Sending the crew out there to pick up all the rotting, foul smelling melons and getting them out of the field. Investing more work in a what some might say is a lost cause. For the chance, the just maybe, that something good can still come from this field.
We could throw in the towel and give up on the melon field. Leave these rotting corpses in the field. Throw our hands up in defeat.
But something in us keeps trying, keeps hoping, keeps working. Maybe we are hard-headed (the Buzby's are known for their hard-headedness).
Yes, we are saddened by the rain, but the great thing about farmers is we love hard work. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. We are putting our heads down and working hard. Working hard to pull out of this mess.
When the negative thoughts are overwhelming, keep your hands busy and keep your mind focused on the positive.
As Grandmom Daily used to sing in the packing house. . . "Accentuate the Positive, Eliminate the Negative"
Matthew 6 (NIV)
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry
about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what
you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than
clothes? 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
SugarBaby Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Red Cubanelle Peppers, Green Tomatoes, Red Tomatoes, Yellow Peaches, Sweet Corn, (not pictured PYO flowers, herbs, hot peppers)
Here we are WEEK #16.
We are enjoying this mild August weather! To quote Pop-Pop Buzby, "This is good weather for WORKING!" To quote Farmer Andy, "Man, it is a beautiful day, I think you all should pay me for letting you work outside today!" Haha. Can you tell we love our job! What a privilege to work out in this wonderful world we live in, the sun, fresh air, dirt. We wouldn't want it any other way.
We have gotten about 5 inches of rain so far this August. The corn is loving it, I just hope the pumpkins make it through this wet spell.
This originally came to me as a Jalapeño popper recipe. Recently we have started filling cubanelles with it. Both ways are amazing!
This is what my father-in-law, Farmer Andy has to say about Stuffed Cubanelles, "I could eat about 10 feet of the that!"
The filling:
One 8 oz block of cream cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
dash of chili powder
dash of garlic powder.
Mix the above and use to fill all kinds of peppers. For cubanelles bake at 400 until cheese is melty and the peppers are getting some browned edges, about 20-30 minutes. Feel free to use what ever cheese you have, switch out the cheddar for monetary, YUM!
Farmer Andy prefers this filling in red cubanelle peppers. I cut them in half length wise and take the seeds out, and then smoosh some filling in.
I enjoy using the cheese mixture to make my own jalapeño poppers. I bake the jalapeños at 300 for little bit longer, 40-50 minutes.
This weeks share starting at the top going clockwise: sugar baby watermelon, 12 ears of corn, 4 cubanelle peppers, yellow peaches, eggplant, 3lbs tomatoes. (Not pictured) PYO flowers, herbs, grape tomatoes, and hot peppers.
New this week *Peaches*
The peaches this week are from Larchmont Farms on Rt 77. Elmer, NJ
The peaches need a day or two on the counter to ripen. Or keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.
5 ways you can tell it is August around the farm
#1 the weeds- Around this time of year the weeds in every field are out of control. We are doing our best to keep them out of our late field of eggplants, tomatoes, and pumpkins. But the farm has definitely lost that clean spring look.
#2 The corn planter is put away- We have been planting corn on a regular basis since April, but now the corn planter is tucked away in the storage building. It depends on the weather, but we should have corn through the end of September.
#3 The bush hog comes to work. . . to clean up some fields. We use the bush hog to chop up the fields when we are through with them. We have already chopped up the first 2 cantaloupe fields. Next on the list the first tomato field. Oh and lots of corn has been chopped up too.
#4 Red and Yellow Peppers- The colored peppers take a long time to ripen. A pepper plant first makes a green bell pepper and then as it sits on the plant the pepper continues to ripen and turn those beautiful shades of red or yellow that we all love.
#5 The farm workers are all a little bleary eyed. Everyone is pushing the limits of exhaustion. The to-do list is long and never finished. The jokes in the packing house get sillier. And everyone is starts dreaming of a fall vacation
This weeks share includes: corn, green bell peppers, Sicilian eggplant, onions, heirloom tomatoes, PYO grape tomatoes, blueberries, watermelon and cantaloupe.
You can use Sicilian eggplant just as you would use your black globe eggplant. Sicilian eggplant is great for eggplant Parmesan and is said to have slightly sweeter taste. Here is a link to my all time favorite eggplant recipe.
Tomato harvest is in full swing. I LOVE it. Here is my BLT I made for myself tonight. That is one of the Big Beef tomatoes. I had tomato juice running down to my elbows. YUM-O!
Also enjoying:
-Grilled Cheese with tomato
-Tomato Bruschetta
-Pico de gallo with our tomato, onion, and jalapeno
-Fried Eggplant with a slice of tomato on top
-Eat a tomato like an apple (Gram is famous for this one)
