The season is off to a slower start than usual as we wait for the crops to ripen. Even the plants in the tunnel are taking longer to ripen than last year. There are large beautiful cucumber plants full of flowers and small fruits that we are looking forward to eating soon!
Seth and I are away this week at a family reunion and are grateful for the crew taking care of the farm. While we are gone, they will continue to work on prepping the winter ground, seeding more fall brassicas, and planting succession crops. The weeds are creeping in and we are hoping to tackle some of them, by hand and by tractor. We hope to have most of the hay in as well.
This week’s pick list:
Beets
Chard
Potatoes
Collards
Parsley, Basil, Cilantro, Dill
Mustard greens
Scallions
Radish
Kale
Summer squash
Lettuce
Strawberries
Tea Blends - bring containers!
Dried Peppers - bring containers!
Revolution Bread available for purchase
No Bake Lemon Custards with Strawberries, from nytimes.com
FOR THE CUSTARDS:
2 cups heavy cream
⅔ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest (from 1 to 2 lemons)
Pinch of fine sea salt
⅓ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 to 3 lemons)
FOR THE STRAWBERRY TOPPING:
1 cup sliced strawberries
1 to 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
Freshly ground black pepper, for serving
In a medium saucepan, combine cream, sugar, lemon zest and salt over medium-high heat. Bring to simmer, stirring frequently to dissolve sugar. Simmer vigorously until mixture thickens slightly, about 4 to 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Let sit until mixture has cooled slightly and a skin forms on top, about 20 minutes.
Stir mixture, then strain through fine-mesh strainer into a measuring cup with a spout; discard zest. Pour mixture evenly into six 6-ounce ramekins or small bowls.
Refrigerate, uncovered, until set, at least 3 hours.
As the custards chill, prepare the strawberry topping: Toss strawberries and sugar in a small mixing bowl. Let fruit macerate at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until the sugar is dissolved.
To serve, top each lemon custard with some strawberry topping and grind black pepper on top.