Broadturn Farm

This week's harvest:
Cabbage
Lettuce
Broccoli (for Tuesday-- Friday got theirs last week)
Chives
Dill
Strawberries
Sugar Snap Peas
Beets with greens
Collards

Sugar Snap Peas are eaten in the pod. They are sweetest closest to the time of being picked. The sugar in peas turns to starch post harvest, changing the flavor. This is why they are best raw, off the vine while walking up to weed the field, and feeling the need for a quick pea snack. I love to saute them lightly and toss with goat cheese and a little lemon zest.

Strawberries are still popping red in the field for one more week. They are getting smaller, but dare I say: sweeter! Thanks so much to our pickers this season for spending many long hours bending over weeds and fruit. Red knees and fingers from soreness or sweetness?

Our strawberry field has served us well, but they will be tilled under in a couple weeks. What started out two years ago as a weed free field has gone from pick your own last year, and into this year's jungle of weeds. Where do they come from!? Stella's night-time patrol cuts right through the field, so John is happy to point the finger at her. But most weeds illustrate the ancient concept of spontaneous generation very well, and that takes the blame off of everyone.

Maybe it is just that John Snell's bean field in it's cultivated prime lies right next door, that we are amazed by our strawberry field's weeds.

But maybe again, it is because next week we will again wrest control over the ground, and bury all the mess and start again with some cover crops for the coming months and years.

All hail the giant thistle: King of the Strawberry Field and feared by many-a-picker!

I overheard one of our crew comment about beets that hit home. Prepared well, you'll never forget how much you love beets. Prepared poorly, and maybe they are better forgotten. Try a recipe with the lemon zest that seems to be one among our favorite accouterments this summer. Simply toss the beets with olive oil, course sea salt, pepper, crushed garlic (still have those scapes?), and lemon zest, plus a little lemon juice. Roast low down in a hot oven (450 degrees), until they are soft. Then toss them with plenty of goat cheese, and some fresh tarragon (from our herb garden-- help yourself.) Maybe the dill would work well too. Tell me that's not delicious.

A few images from a weekend wedding...the traditional floral crowns for the Greek Orthodox wedding ceremony included a white ribbon connecting the groom's crown to the bride's. Each wedding is slightly different and new, presenting us with interesting creative issues.  Oh, and the wedding was also out on Peak's Island... Getting flowers out to an island presented us with lots more creative problem solving!

Blessings on the meal.
PS: The baby turkeys, on view in the ell of our barn, say hello.
FYI: Officially they are called "turkey poults", but we think "turk-lettes", or "turklings" works well too.