Week 6

As many of you know, Debra Whiting died in an automobile accident last week. She was the owner and executive chef at Red Newt Bistro here in Hector. It was in this capacity that we got to know her. She was always excited by whatever vegetables we had to offer her. And she always seemed to have so much energy. She was so great to work with. We also were aware that she was an avid supporter of local farms and other local businesses - she served as chair of the boards of Finger Lakes Culinary Bounty and Watkins Glen Area Chamber of Commerce. But we did not know her personally all that well and we did not realize just how much of an integral part of the larger community she was until we attended the memorial celebration on Tuesday at the Red Newt.
Cars were parked a half mile both up and down Tichenor Rd. as overflow from the parking lot. And the line of people waiting to sign the registry was about 200 feet long for probably almost an hour. And it was impressive to learn about all of the other activities she was involved in. It was nice to know there are so many people to support her family.
So our community has a giant piece missing from its heart. This void will certainly take a long time to fill. Debra will be missed for a very long time.

The farm is doing well. We have been lax the past couple months about setting up our irrigation system for the year since we thought we might never need it! But the last week has been hot, sunny, dry and windy. So the last couple evenings we have been laying driptapes and turning on the irrigation. And yesterday evening we were feeling so jealous as we watched two large storms pass us - one just to our north and one just to our south. So when my sister and her boyfriend showed up at the farm drenched after picking cherries in a downpour at the orchard less than a mile south of our place, we were a little miffed. But we figured that's just how summer thunderstorms are. And then last night we were awoken at 2:30 by the sound of a torrential downpour. This is always a nice surprise for farmers in the middle of the summer's dry spells. So we smiled sleepily and then laid back down to sleep.

This week's expected vegetables
Green beans
Cucumbers
Beets
Green Onions
Eggplant
Summer Squash and Zucchini
Chard
Kale
Basil
Scapes
New Potatoes
Raspberries
Lettuce
a few tomatoes

next week...
more of the same
perhaps some carrots


Refrigerator Sun Pickles: makes 1 quart
Cucumbers to fill a quart jar
2-2 3/4 cups vinegar (white or cider)
1 Sprig Fresh Dill
1 clove garlic, chopped.

Wash cucumbers. Cut ¼ inch off of each end. If cucumbers are large, slit them into quarters within ¼ inch of the ends. The cuts allow the vinegar to penetrate the cucumbers and in larger cucumbers, make it easier to divide the pickles into spears. If they are not cut, the centers will not be crisp.
Pack the cucumbers as they are prepared into the jar vertically. Don’t over pack by stuffing in too tightly. Add dill and garlic, then add vinegar until it completely covers the cucumbers.
Expose the jar to sunlight for 2 days for a total of at least 14 hours of sunlight. Chill and eat. These pickles must be stored in the refrigerator. And they are really, really good!

*If you wish to use salt, add 1 teaspoon salt to 2 cups water and decrease vinegar to 1 cup.

from Stocking Up, third edition Carol Hupping and the staff of the Rodale Food Center.