Cecilia cleaned the pump house which was full of cobwebs and other creatures. It looks amazing! I wish I had before and after pictures. Cecilia and Jesse also changed the sand in the filters and we are slowly getting the irrigation system ready for planting.
Sam, Monique, and Sarah H. have been prepping the old artichoke beds to be planted with asparagus, rhubarb, and horseradish. We abandoned growing perennial artichokes in the beds as the gophers still attacked the artichokes through the gopher baskets!
We took a walk on Sunday to visit the mother cows. The calves with their pink noses were curious about us but also stayed close to their moms.
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Spinach
Beets
Chard
Castelfranco Chicory
Radish
Turnips
Rutabaga
Fennel
Lettuce
Arugula
Onions
Green garlic
Celery
Parsnips
Leeks
Dried tea herbs
Dried ground peppers
Revolution Bread
Olive Oil!
Savory Onion Cake (adapted from Classic German Baking by Luisa Weiss)
This onion cake becomes very sweet thanks to caramelized onions. It pairs beautifully with a bitter green salad a steak.
DOUGH
- 1 2/3 cups, scooped and leveled plus more for kneading
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- pinch of salt
- ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon oil
TOPPING
- about 1 pound yellow onions
- 4 tablespoon oil
- 2 ½ oz bacon OR cheese for vegetarian option cut in small pieces
- ½ to 1 teaspoon caraway seeds OR cumin seeds
- fresh ground pepper
- 2 eggs
To make the dough: Place flour in a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Put yeast and sugar in the middle. Slowly pour in water, stirring gentle with a fork. Keep stirring adding the salt and 2 Tablespoon oil.
As soon as you have a shaggy dough dump it out on a lightly floured surface and knead vigorously until dough is smooth and silky, 4 -5 minutes. Resist adding more flour; you want the dough to remain as soft as possible. Put dough in an oiled bowl, cover with wet dishcloth. Place in a warm, draft free spot for 1 -2 hours.
Grease a 10 inch cake pan
After dough has risen place it in the pan. Gentle push dough down and out to cover the bottom of the pan and make a small rim, about ¼ inch. Take care not to stretch the dough so much as simply spread it out with your fingertips. The dough should be even and slightly dimpled. Cover with same dishcloth and set aside for additional 30 minutes.
While the dough is resting, heat oven to 400F and prep topping. Thinly slice onions into rings. Heat the oil in a medium skillet and add the diced speck (Let the speck render for a few minutes then add onions). If not using Speck add your onions, seeds and season with pepper. Sautee over medium until onions soften, translucent, and take on some color, 10-20 minutes (the longer they sautee the sweeter they get). Take off pan and cool slightly.
In a small bowl, beat the eggs and add slightly cooled onions and cheese and mix together. When dough is finished resting pour onion mixture on top of dough and spread evenly. Bake for 40 minutes, rotating half way through. If the onions are browning too fast cover the cake with a piece of aluminum foil.
After 40 minutes, if the top is not too dark turn on broiler for a short moment until the cake has your desired browning (I like mine slightly charred in some areas).
Remove pan and let cool. Serve immediately or store in fridge. Can be reheated at 350F for 5 minutes.