Hi everyone, Jess here. Though the weather is sultry and soggy, fall is in the air and there are signs of it around the land, including the farm!
Despite her many projects (including the logging of the back field), Farmer Jamie and her crew have found the time to decorate the farmstand to ring in the season. What a lovely time to visit the farm stand! With over 20 items in this week’s pickup, let’s get right to the “Tell” of this week’s Springdell Show and Tell.
- butter & sugar corn
- Corn on the cob
- Blanched and cut off the cob, eaten through the week
- acorn squash
- Stored (click here to read about squash storage and get recipe ideas)
- heirloom cherry tomatoes
- Caprese
- Roasted Pepper and Tomato Salad
- heirloom tomatillos
- Tomatillo Salsa (a double batch using tomatillos from the community garden as well)
- watermelon
- Grilled Watermelon
- Watermelon breakfast smoothie (or try Gazpacho!)
- Sliced and enjoyed as-is
- saladette tomatoes
- Sliced onto a Meat Loaf
- Roasted Pepper and Tomato Salad
- crookneck summer squash
- Boiled with Amish Roll Butter (My older son’s favorite)
- bell peppers
- One cut into strips for my oldest son (he loves them as-is)
- Roasted (Tori Avey has a great breakdown for different ways to do this)
- Roasted Pepper and Tomato Salad
- Cortland or Gala apples (click the link to compare pics and see which kind you got!)
- jalapeño peppers
- Italian peppers
- Roasted (see above )
- Roasted Pepper and Tomato Salad
- radish
- dill
- Lemon Dill Roasted Carrots
- Lemon Dill Grilled Salmon
- Dill Herbed Butter
- Lemon Dill Egg Salad
- rainbow chard
- Par boiled and sautéed with butter
- Genovese basil
- Caprese
- Carrot Top Basil Pesto
- carrots
- Carrot Top Basil Pesto
- Roasted with Lemon and Dill
- broccoli
- Steamed with cheese sauce
- Some blanched and frozen for later use
- pears
- Pear and bleu cheese salad
- Poached in Riesling with Sweet Cream (recipe pending)
- Poached in Merlot
- grapes (From Sean at Trombly Garden in Milford, NH, a friend of Farmer Jamie. Jamie, thanks for having such sweet friends!)
- enjoyed as-is
- Enjoyed with the pear and bleu cheese salad
eggs
- Lemon Dill Egg Salad
- Scrambled
- zinnias
All veggie scraps composted and fed to chickens unless otherwise noted.
It’s been a looooooooooong week with my other half overseas, and keeping the kids alive has been my primary mission. The mission was successful, and somehow I’ve even been able to get some cooking done along the way! Let’s take a look:
I had some mozzarella from the farmstand that was screaming for basil and tomato, so I had some of that on Monday. I know this recipe is a re-run, but it’s such a simple but delicious favorite!
My oldest little one likes the summer squash plain, so we boiled it gently this week with some butter. For a more grown-up palette, this recipe is a favorite of mine, kicked up a notch in flavor and sweetness!
The carrots were lovely this week, but I knew that the boys wouldn’t be sold on the carrot tops, so on Monday I made and froze some carrot top and basil pesto.
Here are the pesto cubes prepped and ready for the freezer. This will bring a taste of summer to dishes during the winter doldrums.
The kids love steamed broccoli “trees”, and what better way to add a little punch than a silky cheese sauce? I start with a roux, melting about 1 tbsp of butter and adding in a tbsp. of flour, whisking it constantly. After combined and warmed (my flour usually changes color slightly), I slooowly drizzle in about 1/2 cup of warmed milk while whisking. The sauce should be smooth, take it slow so it doesn’t get clumpy. Next, I add in a heaping handful of cheese (maybe ¾ cup) and keep on stirring until melted, adding more cheese or milk to increase/decrease the thickness as desired.
Tuesday I went with a simple meat loaf, covering it in sliced saladette tomatoes before baking (those were easy enough for the kids to peel off, and hey, more for me to enjoy!) Corn off the cob and watermelon made an appearance.
Wednesday I went to the Jordan Brothers truck for some delicious salmon, grilled in foil pouches with lemon and dill. The lemon and dill flavored the fish quite nicely, which is great because I got distracted (in typical me “fashion”) and overcooked the salmon. While the grill was on I grilled up some watermelon as well. Lemon and dill roasted carrots and honey roasted radishes were a simple side.
Between the farm pickup and my community garden plot, I was inundated with tomatillos this week. When I found a spare moment here and there, I prepped them for a salsa verde.
Luckily this stuff is relatively quick to prep, requiring only a 10 minute cook time and 15 minute processing time in the canner. I’ll be sure to bring some to the canning swap to share.
How about those grapes? I brought a small handful with me every time I hopped in the car this week, they were gone in no time. I’m only wishing I saved enough for this number…
I had planned a pear and bleu cheese salad this week, only I made it to Friday night before realizing I had no greens left. It became more of a pear and bleu cheese ensemble. I drizzled on some maple balsamic glaze and tossed in some walnuts. I absolutely LOVE this combo. The grapes would have been a nice addition too. The boys enjoyed their traditional Friday pizza night and had no idea what they were missing.
By Friday night, a week alone with the boys had officially toasted me. After they went to bed I decided to try a recipe for poached pears in riesling with a sweet cream. I’d be lying if I said my motivation was culinary, but it gave me an excuse to crack a bottle of good wine and celebrate the weekend with a glass. Oh, and the pears turned out great! Posting the recipe is on my ever growing to-do list, but if you can’t wait, please feel free to message me and that’ll give me a nudge.
Saturday night I used my remaining cortlands to make an apple cranberry crisp for our neighborhood block party. This one is a great one for when cranberries and apples show up in the share box!
Someone had recently suggested to me to try to get the “Tell” post out before Sunday night, that way it may give you more weekend time to try things out along with me. It’s a great idea, and I’ll definitely do my best to do so moving forward. I still have a few veggies on the counter and a few more things to cook today, including Lemon Dill Egg Salad, a roasted pepper and tomato salad, and pears poached in merlot, so I’ll plan to check in on Monday during the “Show” post with how that all goes. Meanwhile, my eternal thanks for tuning in!
How is your veggie experience going? Did you have a yummy recipe that you’d like to share with us this week? If so, please feel free to send me a message or comment below this post! After all, 200 kitchens are much better than one!