By Sarah Beth
This year Sarah James has graciously agreed to grow two of my favorite plants: okra and hibiscus. Being from the Southeast, okra is a large part of my culture. I grew up always having okra in the summer. My family would make fried okra and pickled okra. I also love stewing okra with tomatoes and seasoning and serving it over rice. I know the sliminess of okra deters some from it but we’re growing a variety called Jade that is a beautiful vibrant green color and is less slimy than others. The okra will be planted in the “pick your own” field. Hibiscus (or Roselle, Hibiscus sabdariffa) is a plant I discovered when farming in Southwest Florida. This hibiscus is similar but different from the flowering shrub we all know. With this type of hibiscus you wait until the flower has bloomed and closed up and then you harvest the calyxes. You can use calyxes in teas, beverages, or jams and it has many excellent health benefits. These two plants share the same botanical family (Malvaceae- also the same family as marshmallow!) and are both native to Africa but are grown across the world. I hope you are all able to experiment and enjoy these two plants as they start producing in the coming months!
Broccoli and alyssum
This Week’s Pick List:
The pick list is shrinking as we eat through the last of the storage crops. The fall planted chard and celery have gone to seed with the lengthening and warming days. Soon though the list will start to grow!
Eggs
Rhonda Beets
Cortland Yellow and Monastrell Red Onions (We recommend storing the red onions in the fridge even though they are cured. They are starting to fade.)
Bora King and Cheong Du Radish
Balena Celeriac
Hablinge Parsnips
Evergreen Hardy Scallions
Green Garlic
Dazzling Blue Kale
Parsley
Regiment Spinach
Salanova Lettuce Mix
Albion Strawberries
Single Herb Tea (We are offering our remaining dried herbs in bulk now!)
Saltonstall Olive Oil (Please bring your own jars!)
Revolution Bread
Chloe, one of the two bottle fed lambs this year
Spinach-and-Cilantro Soup With Tahini and Lemon, from nytimes.com
FOR THE SAUCE:
1/4 cup well-stirred tahini
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 large clove garlic, finely grated or pounded to a smooth paste
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes or ground
FOR THE SOUP:
7 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
12 ounces spinach (about 12 packed cups)
2 cups roughly chopped parsley, stems and leaves
1/4 cup well-stirred tahini
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more as needed
First, make the sauce: Combine tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt, cumin and red-pepper flakes with 2 tablespoons water in a medium bowl. Whisk until smooth, adding more water as needed to achieve a drizzle-able consistency, and set aside.
Next, make the soup: Add stock to a Dutch oven or heavy pot, and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in spinach, parsley, tahini and salt, and return to a boil. Turn off heat, and stir in lemon juice.
Use an immersion blender to purée soup. Taste, and adjust seasoning with more salt and lemon, if desired.
Serve soup immediately, and drizzle with tahini sauce. Cover and refrigerate remaining soup and sauce for up to 1 week, or freeze soup for up to 1 month.