Greetings from the Garden! This week’s CSA box has salad and braising greens, herbs, garlic scapes, green onions, snap peas, carrots or beets, asparagus, and strawberries.
Field Notes. Ken has started mulching. First he cultivates, then pulls any larger weeds, then spreads mulch to cover the soil – it keeps soil temperatures moderate to promote microbial life in the soil, and it lowers weed pressure. Ken tries to keep soil covered with either mulch or green manures once the plants are established. He often says, “Naked soil is dying soil.”
Tuesday we arrived in Stillwater at 6:30 a.m. to pick up some bees. For the last few years Ken has been frustrated with the vitality of the bees he has ordered. He got two of about the same quality. His goal this year is to have a healthy hive that can survive winter. Once we have that we can think about honey.
From the Kitchen. We have been savoring the asparagus as the season is ending. I pan seared and topped with my Asian dressing of sesame oil, a bit of toasted sesame oil, a bit of maple syrup, some tamari, some rice vinegar, pepper, and toasted sesame seeds – a nice change
We start some days with the culled strawberries. I rinse, hull , cut out the blemishes like these slug bites, slice and put just a bit of sugar to soften and bring out the flavor. Often we top with cream or yogurt. Ken likes to add banana slices as well
Last night for supper we had a pasta salad I found in Jane Brody’s God food book. She uses salmon, but tuna also works. While pasta cooks make a dressing of yogurt, chopped green onion or chives, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper with some chopped dill. Drain the pasta and use the cooking water to blanch some snap peas. Combine pasta, peas, and either tuna or salmon in the dressing.
‘Til Next Week, Judith and the gang
