Hello from the farm,
It's a glorious week here in the fields, the warm sunshine and the cool air are worth reveling in. It's been a full week as we have been planting all sorts of crops for the fall--got the dill, spinach, and lettuce seeded, also planted the cultish black radishes and mild watermelon radishes, sweet turnips, all kinds of Asian greens, collards, kale, beets, carrots and others. The soil conditions are ideal for getting these crops started, now if we can just keep those crows from eating the tender seedlings as they emerge, as they love to do!
The sweet peppers are doing exceedingly well again this year, the flavor and sweetness of the long red Carmen pepper is without equal and that's why it is our favorite year after year.
The big new arrival this week is edamame, aka green soybeans, which we're very excited about.
Spotlight on Matt M.
Position at the farm: Farm Crew
Number of years working for Goodwill: 3 years
Favorite thing to grow at the farm: pumpkins
The animal he most connects with is: the porcupine
Favorite kind of music: rap
Favorite thing about the farm: the vegetables, especially the beans
One of his favorite places is: Wildwood, NJ
Favorite sport to watch: baseball
Matt’s family includes: his mom, dad, brother, sister, 3 nieces and his Grandma
Matt’s enjoys: collecting crazy hats, working out, and is always game for a party
Favorite Superheroes: Captain America and Iron Man
Matt’s nickname: Mattmo
Farm riddle: that which uses fire makes the ice...
Any guesses? send me an email.
Eager for Edamame
Green soybeans are very tasty and nutritious as well. They are a mainstay in Japan and are used as an appetizer, side dish, after meal palate cleanser, or to accompany your frosty beverage, hence the variety named "beer friend."
How to prepare: you will see a heaping table of edamame on the table when you pick up your share. We recommend that you remove the beans while you are here, unless you want to take the stalks home with you to compost. Take your beans home, put unshelled pods into salted boiling water for about 7 minutes or until tender. Scoop out with slotted spoon, colander, or what have you, and drain a bit, sprinkle with salt.
Now pick up pods and squeeze the beans directly into your mouth. Kind of like sunflower seeds, but without that level of labor :-) Enjoy!!
Here's what you'll find in a half-cup serving of shelled edamame (or 1 1/8 cup edamame in the pods):
- 120 calories
- 9 grams fiber
- 2.5 grams fat
- 1.5 grams polyunsaturated fat (0.3 grams plant omega-3 fatty acids)
- 0.5 gram monounsaturated fat
- 11 grams protein
- 13 grams carbohydrate
- 15 mg sodium
- 10% of the Daily Value for vitamin C
- 10% Daily Value for iron
- 8% Daily Value for vitamin A
- 4% Daily Value for calcium
As you can see, that little serving of edamame gives you a bunch of fiber: 9 grams, about the same amount you'll find in 4 slices of whole-wheat bread or 4 cups of steamed zucchini. It has almost as much protein as it does carbohydrate. It contains around 10% of the Daily Value for two key antioxidants; vitamins C and A. And for a plant food, it's quite high in iron; it has about as much as a 4-ounce roasted chicken breast.
Suggestions for the Harvest:
Edamame: this green soybean is tasty and nutritious to boot.
Watermelon: we may have some, this will be the final week for them.
Storage Onions: the red and white onions are storage onions for the pantry. Great for burgers or whatever.
Sweet Peppers: great for salads or fried with onions and garlic.
Potatoes: Slice for chips and fry in peanut oil or cut for fries. Super tasty. My favorite summer treatment is a Lebanese style potato salad with just olive oil and herbs.
Carrots: soon coming to an end, maybe one more week of harvest.
Eggplant: coat with oil and soysauce and grill, or bread them and fry.
Chard: use in lieu of spinach in babaganoush, salads,
Scallions: these are finished.
Cucumber and Zucchini: we may have a few this week as they fade away.
PYO:
husk tomatoes: peel the paper off and pop in your mouth for a pineappley treat.
hot peppers: pick green or wait for the ripe red color with more fruitiness. Slice in half and fill with cream cheese and bacon bits, add grated cheese.
Stevia: try this non-glycemic sweet leaf in lieu of sugar. one small leaf sweetens a cup of coffee.
Lemon grass: cut a few leaves for your Thai style cooking
Sungold cherry tomatoes: these fruity acetylene orange bites are ripe when deep orange
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