The rain and cool weather have been refreshing. I can only hope that the trend continues. We harvested the parsnips today. The middle field is almost completely cleared of plants and irrigation, ready to be tilled and cover cropped.
The cows are all together again in one herd. We drove them across the hill behind our house and back to the large pond last week. There is still beautiful grass back there. We will graze them quickly around the pond to minimize the manure load but to manage the vegetation, and then keep moving them across the back hills.
Last week we also did a large clean out of the flowers. It should be easier to harvest and see what is still growing. The flowers are slowly fading but there are still some lovely blooms out there. We did leave a few older plants and seed heads for the birds.
This is the last week for cucumbers and leeks. We are no longer harvesting sweet peppers but we have them stored in the cooler and will continue to offer them as long as they stay crisp.
This week's pick list:
- Turnips
- Peas
- Pac Choy
- Sorted Sweet Peppers
- Cucumbers
- Fennel
- Kohlrabi
- Escarole and Frisee
- Radicchio
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Parsnips
- Leeks
- Onions
- Garlic
- Lettuce
- Celery
- Celeriac
- Winter Squash
- Potatoes
- Kale
- Chard
- Collards
- Beets
- Rutabaga
- Carrots
- Dill and Cilantro
- Strawberries
- Flowers
Root Vegetable Soup with Orange, Ginger, and Tarragon (Adapted from marthastewart.com)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 onion, coarsely chopped (about 2 1/2 cups)
- Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 large parsnip, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 1/4 cups)
- 1/2 small rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 3/4 cups)
- 1 small celery root, peeled and coarsely chopped (about 2 1/2 cups)
- 2 thyme sprigs
- 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) broth
- 2 oranges
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly grated peeled ginger
- 1/2 cup water, plus more if needed
- Freshly chopped tarragon
DIRECTIONS
Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and 3/4 teaspoon salt, and cook until onion is softened, about 6 minutes (do not let brown). Add parsnip, rutabaga, celery root, thyme, and broth. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat. Cover, and simmer until vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
Discard thyme. Puree soup in batches in a blender until smooth (fill blender only halfway), and transfer to a clean pot.
Finely grate enough peel of 1 orange to yield 1/2 teaspoon zest. Working over a bowl, cut segments of orange free of membranes, and set aside. Squeeze juice from membranes into a bowl, then squeeze enough juice from remaining orange to yield 1 cup total. Just before serving, reheat to warm. Stir in orange zest, juice, ginger, and water, plus more to thin to desired consistency. Season with salt, and garnish with orange segments, tarragon, and pepper.