The boys have been fishing in the pond again, which feels like such a treat. Beyond having the pond full for growing food, it has also been such a joy to swim and wade and more.
Cecilia and I checked the soil moisture yesterday, assessing when and how we should start tilling. To be honest, it is so dry for this time of year and in some fields drier than we want. And yet, we do not have plants ready to put in the ground, as we usually do not plan for this early of a start. We don’t want to till and have bare soil for too long. We are grateful for the cooler weather and these little rains which will help the soil hold the moisture for a little longer.
We will start tillage this week for the new asparagus field, and next week for half of the main vegetable fields. We will add in an extra seeding of carrots, beets, and more, which will allow to have these crops earlier, a silver lining of the dry spring. We bumped up our first greenhouse sowing of brassicas to be ready to plant earlier.
And we are still hoping for more rain.
This Week’s Pick List:
Eggs
Takrima Leeks
Matador Shallots, Cortland Yellow, and Monastrell Red Onions
Tetsukabota and Gil’s Golden Acorn
Pie Pita Pumpkins
Yellow Finn, Red, and Harvest Moon Potatoes
Yaya Carrots
Rhonda Beets
Hablange Parsnips
Purple Top Turnips
Bora King Purple Daikon and Watermelon Radish
Kossack Kohlrabi
Ruby King Red, Primo, and Deadon Cabbage
Joi Choi
Dazzling Blue Kale
Ruby Red Chard
Parade Scallions
Preludio Fennel
Red mustard
Lettuce Mix
Various chicories!
Tea Blends and Ground and Whole Chiles (Please bring your own containers!)
Saltonstall Olive Oil (Please bring your own jars!)
Revolution Bread (Friday only!)
Roasted Cabbage with Walnuts and Parmesan, from smittenkitchen.com
Don’t use too big a cabbage. I’ve gotten some shockingly large ones from the grocery that were too dense inside to get a nice crisp to them, without steaming first. Go with two small rather than one giant one, if you have options.
1 medium-large (1 3/4 pounds) or two small heads savoy cabbage
7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
Scant 1/2 cup (1.75 ounces) walnut halves and pieces
1 large or 2 smaller garlic cloves
1 large lemon
Ground chile
Grated parmesan, to taste
Heat oven to 475ºF. Remove any damaged outer leaves of cabbage and cut it 8 (for small ones) to 12 (for a large one) wedges. Coat a large baking sheet with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Arrange cabbage wedges in one layer, drizzling or brushing them with 2 more tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Roast for 8 to 10 minutes, until charred underneath (don’t panic if you see a few thin black edges; they’re going to taste amazing). Use a spatula to flip each piece over and roast for 5 more minutes, until the edges of the cabbage are dark brown.
Meanwhile, while cabbage roasts, place nuts on a smaller tray or baking dish and roast them next to the cabbage for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove and scatter them, still hot, onto a cutting board and coarsely chop them. Scoop into a bowl and finely grate the zest of half a lemon and all of the garlic over it. Add remaning 3 tablespoons olive oil to walnuts, a few pinches of salt and red pepper flakes and stir to combine. If you’ve got a couple minutes to let it all infuse as it cools, let it rest. When ready, squeeze the juice of half your lemon in and stir to combine. Adjust flavors to taste, adding more lemon if needed; you want this dressing to be robust.
The moment the cabbage comes out of the oven, spoon the walnut dressing over the wedges. Grate parmesan all over, to taste. Serve immediately, while piping hot. There will be no leftovers.