3rd Week October

Scenes from a midwinter snowfall? No this was just last Friday morning. That's Liz harvesting some frosty leeks for the Friday and Saturday farmers' markets. But it didn't last long - the snow was gone by afternoon and the week is looking to be toasty in comparison.

Steven, our friend from Chicago, spent this past week with us. He loves to work - why else come to visit a farm, right? - and he helped us out a great deal in harvesting and preping for the cold weather. And at market as you can see here.

Also a picture of just-planted garlic cloves - thanks to those who came out for the garlic planting event! (just little rat tails sticking out of the soil)

We are finally acting on our longstanding plans to install a walk-in cooler in our "greenbarn". We hope to get the cement foundation poured for it this week while the weather will be warm. Its a will be a big space for us - 9'x12'! Practically big enough to live in. It was bought for practically nothing from a business that was closing. And its been waiting the past few years for us to install it. We'll keep you posted on the progress.

thanks for these recipes, laurie!

SUNCHOKE PECAN SANDWICH
(from http://www.vegparadise.com/highestperch26.html)
Raw sunchokes, sometimes called Jerusalem artichokes, are spotlighted as the featured ingredient in this unique sandwich. Crunchy pecans and a smooth creamy avocado sauce pair up in supporting roles. Serve the sandwich with a salad and fruit for a tasty light meal.
Sunchoke Pecan Sandwich is one of the delicious recipes in Zel Allen's cookbook The Nut Gourmet: Nourishing Nuts for Every Occasion published by Book Publishing Company in 2006.
Yield: 3 to 4 sandwiches
1 ripe avocado

1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Dash cayenne

1/4 to 1/2 cup (60 to 120 ml) organic canola oil
2 cups (480 ml) coarsely shredded sunchokes

1/2 cup (120 ml) raw or toasted pecans, coarsely chopped or coarsely ground

1/4 red bell pepper, finely diced

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

6 to 8 slices whole grain bread

12 to 16 large basil leaves

3 ripe tomatoes, sliced

3 to 4 butter lettuce leaves

To make the avocado sauce, wash the avocado, cut it in half, scoop out the flesh, and place it in the blender. Add the lemon juice, salt, and cayenne and blend briefly. With the machine running, slowly add the canola oil, using just enough to create a thick, creamy sauce. Stop the machine occasionally to scrape down the sides of the blender jar and stir the mixture.
To make the sunchoke filling, combine the sunchokes, pecans, and red bell pepper in a medium bowl. Add enough of the avocado sauce to moisten and hold the mixture together. Season with salt and pepper if needed.
Spread a thin coating of the avocado sauce over one side of each of the bread slices. Spread the sunchoke mixture over half the bread slices and top with the basil leaves, tomato slices, and lettuce. Place the remaining bread slices over the filling and cut the sandwiches in half..

Parsnip And Carrot Slaw with Apricot Dressing
2 c Coarsely shredded parsnip

2 c Coarsely shredded carrot

1 c Coarsely shredded celery root

1/2 c Plain nonfat yogurt

2 tb Apricot preserves

1/8 ts Salt

1/8 ts Ground ginger

1/8 ts Pepper
Combine first 3 ingredients in a bowl; toss well. Combine yogurt and next 4 ingredients; stir well. Add to vegetable mixture; toss gently to coat. Yield; 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup).
Just Vegetable Recipes is located at www.justvegetablerecipes.com

thanks linda for this recipe!
Ginger Drink from Sundays at Moosewood

6 cups boiling water cup fresh lime or lemon juice
1 cup peeled fresh ginger root 1 cup orange juice
1 cup sugar 8 cups cool water
2 teaspoons whole cloves
4 cinnamon sticks
Pour the boiling water over the grated ginger root, sugar, cloves, and cinnamon in a large nonreactive bowl. Cover and set aside in a warm place for at least an hour.
Strain the liquid through a fine sieve or cloth. Add the juices and water. Set aside in a warm place for another hour or so. Gently strain the liquid again, taking care not to disturb the sediment at the bottom. Store in the refrigerator in a large nonreactive container.
Serve warm, chilled, or on ice, either as is or diluted with water or sparkling water. Add some honey or freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice.

We like it best hot with honey. We have made many different variations. We don’t use white sugar, but substitute with maple sugar. We often increase the cloves and/or cinnamon, and substitute more orange juice for some of the cool water. We usually increase the steeping times and aren’t too concerned about the sediment. Hope you like it!

make your own Hummus!:

1 can chick peas, or about two cups if you cook your own.

clove of garlic

1/4-1/2 cup olive oil

2-3 T lemon or lime juice

1-2 T soy sauce

1/4-1/2 t. corriander

1/4-1/2 t. cumin

1/4 t. pepper

blend in food processor until smooth. also great with roasted red peppers blended in.

two weeks to go, thanks for eating with us!

liz and matthew