» Archive for July, 2009

Ohmygato Farm Newsletter: Week #9

Thursday, July 30th, 2009 by admin

Hello Farm Friends! I can’t believe how fast this season is going by, but I have to say that these really hot days feel very long indeed. We’ve been swimming in the reservoir in order to keep cool. I’ve uploaded some fun photos of Marek and Ania as they experience a little bit of American Farm life. They’re blending right in!

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This weather scorching and a little tough on some of our little plants, however the tomatoes and eggplants (yes!) are loving it and drinking it all in. The eggplants have made a comeback and are doing incredibly well. So if you like eggplant you can look forward to a baba ganoush recipe in an upcoming newsletter along with a long,  purple,  shining,  beautiful eggplant in your box.

Today we packed cleaned (you still have to wash them) potatoes in your box…a beatiful array of purple, red and yellow ones. Anthony wanted to give everyone dirty potatoes! After some time arguing the pros and cons we decided to give you clean ones and place in our newsletter an explanation. If the potatoes still have dirt on them they’ll keep much longer than ones that don’t. I guess we figured the box would look much better if the pots were clean, so make sure you eat them fairly soon. This is not just hearsay… check it out in the book that I recommended called “Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades” by Steve Solomon.

This week Anthony made a wonderful olive loaf and french bread for the Grower’s Market. I baked scones and with the help of Ania and Marek everything turned out beautifully! We’ll be bringin our baked goods to the market hopefully from now on, so that might help pick up a sales for us. The market is pretty slow, but in time I think it’ll pick up and the people in Winston, Dillard and Green will choose to do their shopping on Tuesdays from 9-2pm. _mg_1721

today’s harvest:

potatoes

summer squash (could be zucchini or crookneck or both)

basil

cauliflower

collard greens

onion

some recipe’s for you…

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Broiled Baby Zucchini Boats with Parmesan Crust Epicurious | April 2000

by Mollie Katzen
Mothers’ Little Helpers

Usher in the zucchini season with these neat little vessels. They’re tender and moist with a pungent, crunchy top. You might also attract a few young children to zucchini in the process. Let them sprinkle on the cheese and this may actually interest them in eating the final result.

Yield: Makes 4 to 6 servings

ingredients

1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons minced garlic
4 small zucchini and/or summer squash (slender ones, about 6 inches long), halved lengthwise
Salt and pepper
Pepper
Grated parmesan

preparation

Preheat the broiler. Melt the butter in a large cast-iron skillet or something similar with an ovenproof handle. Add the garlic and sauté over medium-low heat for about 30 seconds, being careful to let the garlic brown.

Place the zucchini halves facedown in the garlic butter and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Sauté over medium high heat for about 5 minutes, or until the zucchini are just slightly tender when poked with a fork.

Turn the zucchini over, and sprinkle generously with parmesan. (Don’t worry if the parmesan spills into the pan. It will melt into additional, delicious crust.) Cook for just a minute or two longer, then transfer the skillet to the broiler.

Broil for about 3 to 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and golden brown. Serve hot, and don’t forget to scrape up the spilled parmesan from the bottom of the pan.

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Oven-Roasted Fries Bon Appétit | January 2008

by Suzanne Tracht

Thick-cut oven fries are delicious—and so easy, especially if you don’t have time to make the deep-fried version. Use russet or purple potatoes, or a mixture of both.

Yield: Makes 4 to 6 servings

ingredients

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 pounds unpeeled russet potatoes or purple potatoes, scrubbed, cut lengthwise into 1/2- to 1/3-inch wedges
2 tablespoons canola oil

preparation

Preheat oven to 450°F. Spray large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Toss potato wedges with canola oil in large bowl. Sprinkle potato wedges generously with salt and pepper; spread in single layer on prepared baking sheet. Roast potato wedges until tender and brown in spots, turning occasionally, about 45 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve.

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Ohmygato Farm Newsletter: Week #8

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 by admin

marekaniaYAY! Marek & Ania are here at Ohmygato Farm and they’ve helped harvest and prepare your boxes today! They arrived last night after a long road trip and several farm visits. Anthony and I are learning a little Polish and hopefully they’ll learn quite a bit from working here on the farm. The harvest this morning went very smooth and it’s nice to have the help. They haven’t seen Roseburg yet, so I’ll take them with today in order to deliver the goodies! How exciting for them..from Warsaw, Poland to Roseburg, Oregon! So far, we’ve learned that Buraki means Beet in Polish and when Anthony decided to have fun and call me a Burak head we soon realized that this has an entirely different meaning, which I will not post!! We hope that you enjoy your box this week and that you are all happy and healthy!

Speaking of the goodies..we hope you enjoy this weeks box.. we were looking forward to having tomatoes, but they’re just ripening in handfuls at the moment. I know they’ll all hit at once and we won’t be able to move them fast enough, but for right now I find myself taping my foot and feeling a bit anxious. The head lettuces are done for just a little bit, but you can look forward to them a little later in the season. I’ve been planting more (non-bolting) varieties, but it’ll be a little while longer. Once again, if your mixed greens are wilted today, just give them a bath of cold water, rebag and put in the fridge and they’ll perk right back up.

Todays harvest:

Mixed salad greens

beets

basil

onion

collard greens

cabbage (you either got napa cabbage or green cabbage)

summer squash (yellow, green or round zucchini)

some recipe’s for you…

Orzo with Summer Squash and Toasted Hazelnuts Gourmet | August 2003

People who turn their noses up at rice often find this tiny pasta irresistible.

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 40 min

Yield: Makes 8 servings
Active Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

ingredients

1 1/2 cups orzo (10 ounces)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped shallot (6 1/2 ounces)
2 medium zucchini (1 1/2 pound total), cut into 1/3-inch dice
2 medium yellow squash (1 pound total), cut into 1/3-inch dice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup hazelnuts (4 ounces), toasted , loose skins rubbed off in a kitchen towel, and nuts coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest

preparation

Cook orzo in a 4- to 5-quart pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, then drain orzo in a colander.

While orzo is cooking, heat butter and oil in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté shallot, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add zucchini, yellow squash, salt, and pepper and sauté, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are just tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in nuts, parsley, basil, and zest.

Add cooked orzo to skillet and stir gently. If mixture seems dry, moisten with some reserved pasta water. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature._mg_1452_1

Sweet-and-Sour Sauerkraut Gourmet | April 2004

Yield: Makes 10 servings

ingredients

1 large onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise (2 cups)
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted
10 whole allspice, crushed
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 pound packaged sauerkraut, rinsed well and drained

preparation

Cook onion and garlic in oil in a 3 1/2- to 4-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally (stir more frequently toward end of cooking), until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Increase heat to moderate, then add cumin and allspice and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add tomatoes (including juice), brown sugar, salt, and pepper and simmer, stirring occasionally and breaking up tomatoes, 10 minutes. Stir in sauerkraut and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid is absorbed, about 30 minutes.

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Napa Cabbage Kimchi Epicurious |

by Jenny Kwak and Liz Fried
From Dok Suni: Recipes from My Mother’s Korean Kitchen
Reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Press, LLC

Baechu Mock Kimchi

Editor’s note: The recipe below is excerpted from restaurateur Jenny Kwak’s book, Dok Suni: Recipes from My Mother’s Korean Kitchen.Kwak also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we’ve added at the bottom of the page.

To read more about Kwak and Korean cuisine, click here.

Yield: Serves 5 to 6

ingredients

4 pounds napa cabbage
3/4 cup coarse salt

Seasonings:
1 teaspoon finely minced gingerroot
1 cup red pepper powder
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons garlic juice
1 cup onion juice
4 ounces scallions, cut into 1-inch lengths
3 tablespoons coarse salt

preparation1. Coarsely chop the cabbage into 1-inch pieces. Place in a container. Dissolve 3/4 cup of salt in 2 cups of water and pour over the cabbage. Use your hand to mix it in evenly. Cover and let it pickle for 3 hours. Toss and turn over and pickle it for 3 more hours. Strain the cabbage and discard the salt water.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine all the seasonings and mix. Add the scallion last. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Distribute the seasoning on the cabbage and blend in using your hands.

3. Tightly pack the cabbage in a gallon-size jar. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and press down to get rid of air pockets. Store at 70 degrees for 24 hours to ferment. Chill before servin

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Ohmygato Farm Newsletter: Week #7

Thursday, July 16th, 2009 by admin

watercanHello Everyone!! I hope you’re all keeping cool & drinking lots of water on these hot days. I took the liberty and put a Think Local directory in your boxes. I hope you don’t mind, but I have a ton and they don’t do any good sitting in a box on my porch. I usually keep mine right next to my yellow and white pages.
Thankfully it’s warming up because our tomatoes need some heat in order to ripen. Yesterday we finished the first phase of tomato staking and tomorrow we absolutely have to trellis our bush beans. I thinned our second crop of beets today and you all will reap the rewards in this weeks box because rather than composting them we thought it would be a great addition to your head lettuce. You can toss them into your salad or put them on sandwiches. We also like to saute them or just snack on them raw. We have one member who juices all of her veggies! For some of you it might just be time to invest in one of those babies!!
Oh, great news!! Anthony listed us on the WWOOF website in order to get some interns for the summer. We got a response a few weeks ago from a couple from Poland. They’re on their way here as I write this to you today. They will be helping us with our harvest on Thursdays and with many other tasks that need to get done.

Also, this week Ohmygato was featured in the News Review article written by Craig Reed!! He did a feature story in the business section about Community Supported Agriculture. Here’s the link to the article if you’d like to read it and haven’t already: http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20090715/NEWS/907159982&parentprofile=search

Have a wonderful week and we hope you enjoy the harvest this week!

this weeks harvest:

collard greens

rainbow chard

baby chard & beet greens (you can toss these into your salad..yummy & nutricious!)

cauliflower (snowball or cheddar)

chives

sweet onion (walla walla or cippolini)

head lettuce


some recipe’s for you…

Chicken in Parmesan Chive Cream Sauce

(sorry to our vegetarian members! every now and again I’ll put in a recipe that calls for meat. please let us know if that upsets you and we’ll do something about it.)

Recipe courtesy Robin Miller 2007

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 cup shallots, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan, grated
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
  • Salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup rice, regular or instant, cooked according to package directions

Directions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook for 2 minutes stirring with a spoon. Add chicken and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until golden brown on all sides. Add thyme and bay leaves and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Add parmesan cheese and simmer for 1 minute or until sauce has thickened. Remove bay leaves and stir in chives. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Spoon all but 1 heaping cup of chicken over rice. Reserve remaining chicken for Penne with Chicken, Wild Mushrooms and Peas, if desired.

Oven Roasted Cauliflower

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2007

Ingredients

  • 1 large cauliflower, about 2 pounds, cut into 1 1/2-inch flowerets
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked white pepper
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the garlic. Toss to mix well and place in a large baking dish or shallow roasting pan. Place the pan in the oven and roast the cauliflower, turning once or twice, until tender and caramelized around the edges, 30 to 35 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, stir the garlic into the pan.

Remove the pan from the oven and serve immediately.

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Ohmygato Farm Newsletter: Week #6

Thursday, July 9th, 2009 by admin
_mg_1085-copy1Hello All! It’s been another fantastic week on the farm..my parents came to visit and it was wonderful to have them here. It’s always special when family comes. My dad gave us a mini concert on Friday night. The sun had just gone down and we turned on our little christmas lights which surround our roof and my dad sat on the porch singing and playing his heart out, as usual. such a familiar sound, but it was different this time. Does something familiar ever take you by surprise? that’s what happened for me. On another note, the Think Local Independent Business directory is out in the public for all to see. If any of you would like a copy we can drop one in your boxes, just let us know. _mg_13974It’s a great guide for those of you who would like to support local independent businesses and are looking for something specific. Rather than going to a big box store in a pinch why not look up a local mom-n-pop biz who may have just what you need??? We’re trying to keep our dollars here in our town because we believe that it will strengthen our local economy and this little guide makes it possible to have information at my finger tips which will help me help my community!
Now some farm news, notes and pictures: Chances are your salad greens will look wilted when you pick them up..this happens because they’re delicate and they’ve been sitting for a couple of hours by the time you get them. We recommend that you let them soak briefly in a tub/sink full with cold water, drain, put in plastic bag and then place in your refrigerator. They should perk right back up after that! Here are some pictures of what’s happening now in the garden: _mg_0802
The harvest:
beet
onion
mixed salad greens
baby carrots
kohlrabi (the green spaceship looking vegetable: this is great sliced and added to a stir fry!)
rainbow or red chard
radish sprouts (skinny stem)
alfalfa sprouts (thick stem)
some recipe’s for you…
Roasted Root Vegetable Medley

Recipe courtesy Wolfgang Puck

Ingredients

* 8 to 12 slender carrots, peeled and trimmed
* 8 to 12 baby turnips, peeled
* 6 to 8 fingerling potatoes, scrubbed and cut lengthwise in halves
* 1 or 2 large parsnips, peeled, trimmed, and cut diagonally into 1-inch-thick slices
* 1 or 2 medium onions, trimmed, peeled and halved, each 1/2 cut into quarters
* 1 or 2 large beets, peeled and cut into thick wedges
* 1 or 2 kohlrabi bulbs, peeled and cut into thick wedges
* 1 celery root, trimmed and halved, halves cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices
* 1 whole head garlic, separated into cloves, unpeeled
* 2 or 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, sage, or thyme
* Salt
* Freshly ground black pepper
* Extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Put all the vegetables and the herb sprigs in a large baking dish. Season well with salt and black pepper, drizzle generously with olive oil, and toss them with your hands to coat them evenly.

Put the baking dish in the preheated oven and cook, stirring the vegetables occasionally, until they are tender and golden brown, about 45 minutes. Serve the vegetables from their baking dish or transfer them to a platter to accompany a roasted main course.

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Warm Goat Cheese, Beet and Arugula Sandwiches Gourmet | December 1999

ingredients

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons olive oil
14- to 15-ounce can sliced beets, drained
8 (1/2-inch-thick) bread slices from a round country loaf
6 ounces soft mild goat cheese, softened
4 very thin slices red onion, rings separated
16 large arugula leaves

preparation

Preheat broiler.

Whisk together vinegar, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste, then whisk in 2 tablespoons oil. Toss beets with vinaigrette.

Arrange bread on a large baking sheet and brush tops with remaining tablespoon oil. Season with salt and pepper and broil 6 inches from heat 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, or until edges are golden. Remove 4 slices from oven. Turn remaining 4 slices over on baking sheet and spread thickly with goat cheese. Broil 1 minute more and transfer to plates. Top goat cheese with drained beets, onion, arugula, and remaining bread, toasted sides up.untitled-21

Roasted Fennel and Baby Carrots Gourmet | April 2005

ingredients

6 bunches baby carrots, peeled and trimmed, leaving 1/2 inch of stems intact
2 medium fennel bulbs, stalks discarded and bulbs cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

preparation

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 450°F. (If you are making just this dish, you can put oven rack in middle position and roast vegetables on that rack throughout.)

Toss carrots and fennel with olive oil, water, fennel seeds, salt, and pepper and arrange in 1 layer in a 17- by 11-inch shallow baking pan. Cover pan with foil and roast vegetables in lower third of oven 10 minutes, then uncover and roast, turning occasionally, 10 minutes more. Switch pan to upper third of oven and roast until vegetables are tender and browned, about 10 minutes more.

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Ohmygato Farm Newsletter: Week #5

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009 by admin

img_9644Hello Farm Friends!! We’re already on week five and in my mind the summer is flying by..it goes by really fast when you find yourself planning and planting crops for the fall and winter harvests! Well the summer heat has officially arrived and the eggplants are still struggling :( We’re just keeping our fingers crossed that we’ll get a harvest at this point. We’ve been babying them, but nothing seems to be drastically changing about their health. Last year, we had more ichi bans and dusky’s than we knew what to do with, so I think I was taking it for granted that we’d have the same kind of luck this year. The difference is that we’re growing them on new ground and everything we did last year has changed.. These are the hard lessons.The tomatoes are still green, but all is well and will be worth the wait. The strawberry patch is starting to give some of the sweetest tasting berries. We bought our plants here in Winston at Wildwood and we couldn’t be happier with our purchase. We are hoping to have our first harvest in 3-4 weeks!

Monday afternoon was a lot of fun on the farm because we had the owner’s of Sushi -n - Roll (located in Green) here! We had a ton of mustard that needed to be picked because the plants were going to flower, so I called our friends, the restranteurs, to come over and take what they needed. Anthony and I love sushi and have been enjoying the food at Sushi-n-Roll since we moved to this area, so if you get a chance go check them out because we highly recommend it.

Not only did they pick the mustard greens, but they made some kimchee for us right on the spot! If you haven’t tried Kimchee, it’s definitely a must. We all shared some sake and after that we had to just take the night off. There’s no work to be done after a bottle of sake!!

This week’s Harvest:
Buttercrunch Head Lettuce
Peas
Walla Walla Onion
Blankoma (White) Beet + the greens
Mixed Salad Greens
Rainbow (or in some cases Red) Chard

Basil sprig

Nasturtiums (put in salad greens. Thise are edible flowers)

some recipe’s for you..

Roasted Beets and Sauteed Beet Greens
Ingredients:
1 bunch beets with
greens
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped onion (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (optional)
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (175 degrees C). Wash the beets thoroughly, leaving the skins on, and remove the greens. Rinse greens, removing any large stems, and set aside. Place the beets in a small baking dish or roasting pan, and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. If you wish to peel the beets, it is easier to do so once they have been roasted.
2. Cover, and bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until a knife can slide easily through the largest beet.
3. When the roasted beets are almost done, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and onion, and cook for a minute. Tear the beet greens into 2 to 3 inch pieces, and add them to the skillet. Cook and stir until greens are wilted and tender. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the greens as is, and the roasted beets sliced with either red-wine vinegar, or butter and salt and pepper

Sourdough Toast w/ Sweet Italian Basil

This is my own little snack recipe!

Break out the seeded sourdough round from Lighthouse Bakery (located in Oakland) and slice

a sprig of basil chopped

tbl spoon of extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon of salt

This literally takes less than 5 minutes to make and it’s a great summer snack. I usually add tomatoes to this, but since ours aren’t ready yet I’ve just omitted them and it’s pretty good. Just drizzle the olive oil over two slices of bread. Spread your basil over the surface of the oiled bread. Salt to taste and down the hatch!!

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unknown-1The photos we’ve posted today are of Anthony having vegetable dreams, delivery day boxes and the last and most wonderful photo is of Ketzel the cat!! Our members, Beth and Jim Houseman, sent us this fantastic picture of their gato who is peeking to see what’s in this weeks harvest. They also sent us some some radish suggestions. I know you still have some radishes in your fridge, so here goes: Beth likes to substitute them for onions and has received the thumbs up from her fam.  Also, Beth made a brown rice confetti salad substituting the radishes for the red onion and in a stir fry with peas & tofu.

Sounds good to me. Thank you Beth!

Does anyone else out there have beloved gatos? Feel free to send us photos of you, your family and maybe a pic or two of a meal you made with your box food.

See you all next week.

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