ZINNIA

PAYING PENANCE

Sweet Pea Currant - the size of the fingernail on your pinky.  They are a tomato.  We were asked to grow them.  We agreed on the condition that the person who asked for them harvest them.  Today is Sunday, August 29, 2010, approx 1:30 pm and 93 degrees.  The little currant's are well past their prime, but due diligence is being applied while the rest of us are in the cooler house making salsa. 

Of course the other male person in the group took pity on him and happily filled Dave's request for a Nespresso shot of coffee. 

We don't mind.  We'll grow them again next year. 

ZUCCHINI - LIME BREAD AND PANCAKES

Ahhh, the end of summer looms near and here are two ways to use your lingering zucchini!  Enjoy!

ZUCCHINI LIME BREAD
3/4 cup oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1  tsp vanilla extract
3 cups shredded raw zucchini
1 lime, zest and  juice
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Beat or whisk the oil and sugar until well mixed and creamy-looking.  Add the eggs and zucchini and lime zest and juice.

Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in a bowl and mix well.  Add to zucchini mixture and mix well.

Spoon the batter into a greased loaf pan or three greased mini loaf pans.  Bake for 40 minutes (small loaves) to 1  hour 15 minutes (large loaf).  Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely.  Loaves freeze well.  Makes 1 large or 3 small loaves.

ZUCCHINI PARMESAN PANCAKES
2 cups grated zucchini
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Butter for cooking

Combine the zucchini, flour, baking powder, eggs, salt, pepper, and cheese in a bowl and mix well.

Heat 1 T of butter in a large skillet or griddle on medium heat.  For each pancake, pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the skillet.  Cook for 3 to 5 minutes until the bottom is light brown.  Turn the pancakes, cover the skillet, and cook until bottom is browned and the pancakes seem cooked through.  Makes 12 to 16 pancakes.

FUNKY SIDEWALKS - SUNDAY, SEPT 5

On Sunday, September 5, 2010, from 9am to 5pm in Downtown Lake City on Lyons Ave there will be FUNKY SIDEWALKS. 

Artists, Artisans, Farmers Market, Antiques/Vintage Items, Music, and more!!!

Come join the fun and support your local grower, your friends, your family, your neighbor, and celebrate the end of summer.

Look for the Sol 'N Tyne banner on the corner. We will be attending with fall produce, salsa, hot pepper jelly, and ??????-TBD!

This event is sponsored and organized by Jil at Treats and Treasures. 

treatsandtreasureslc.com

HIBISCUS

THURSDAY - AUGUST 26

Tonight, the moon is just past full and a yellow orb in the dark evening sky and along with it are the chilling temps.  It's hard to think about produce on an evening like this, with the feel of fall in the air, but tomorrow is market day in Rochester and here's the list.

Here ya go:
Tomatoes - Brandywine, Gold Medal, Plum Lemon, Green Zebra, Red Zebra, Opalka, and Green Grape.
Zucchini, Summer Squash, and Cucs.
Sweet Peppers - lots of bells turning color.
Hot Peppers - jalapenos, long red cayenne, Ho Chi Min, habanero, mustard habanero, and Krimzon Lee

I may have another surprise, depending on how much I can get done in the morning.  I am going to go hunting for sweet potatoes!  See you at 4 until 8 at the corner of 4th and Broadway.

With the cooler air and feel of fall here's a recipe that combines the end of summer veg into a warm, nourishing dish.

Zucchini Tomato Bake

Makes 4 to 6 serving

3 T chopped onion

3 T butter or bacon grease

2 medium zucchini, sliced

2 cups chopped tomatoes (any kind)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Saute' the onion in the butter in a skillet over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes until tender.  Add the zucchini and tomatoes and cook for 5 mintues until tomatoes loose their "raw" look.  Add the salt and pepper.  Spoon the mixture into a 1 1/2 quart greased baking dish.  Sprinkle with the Parmesan and Cheddar cheese.  Bake for 20 minutes until the cheese is melted.

SALSA TIME

Davie D's Salsa, Fresh Vegetable Salsa, and Pam's Fresh Summer Salsa.  The first two we canned and Pam's went home fresh.  Oh so delicious and fun.  In these pics Pam is slipping the tomatoes and Caryn is chopping.  We are all new to the canning process but by the end of the our second batch we had a system going.  Salsa making was soooo much more fun yesterday!  Thanks!!!

FRESH SUMMER SALSA
12 servings

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup ice water
2 T white wine vinegar
4 tomatillo's, husked, rinsed, and finely chopped

3/4 cup finely chopped yellow cherry tomatoes

2/3 cup (2) finely chopped plum tomatoes

1 1/2 tsp snipped fresh cilantro

1 1/2 tsp fresh serrano chile pepper, seeded and finely chopped (we used sweet green peppers)
1 tsp lime juice  (we used fresh squeezed lime juice)

In a bowl combine onion, ice water, and white wine vinegar and let stand for 30 minutes.  Drain onions and mix with tomatillo's, cherry tomatoes, plum tomatoes, cilantro, serrano pepper, and lime juice.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and let stand for 1 to 24 hours.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Yummy!!!

WHAT FUN WE HAD!!!

A heartfelt thank you to Alice and all of the residents who attended the tomato tasting on Friday.  We hope your day was as blessed as ours and everyone enjoyed the thirteen variety of tomatoes.  Thank you for inviting us to visit.

Patiently waiting.

Passing the plate.

Trying to decide which one they like the best!

THANK YOU LAKE CITY!!!

What a fun, wonderful, awesome, stupendous, encouraging, supportive, friendly, and inviting market!!! We will be set up again next Saturday and looking forward to it.  Thank you to all the vendors and customers!!

There were preserves.  The Hot Blueberry jelly was phenomenal!!!

How bout homemade baked goods!!!

Antiques and collectibles for all ages!!!

For the feathered friends in your life - fancy birdhouses!

Joyful music from Wendy (Wendolina) who travels all over the world with her amazing voice. 

Plums, raspberrries, and more.....

....and of course fresh produce.

GOOD MORNING LAKE CITY

We will be in Lake City this morning from 8am until noon across from Fiesta Foods.  If you can't find us there check across from Hope's Harvest!  Look for the FRESH TOMATO sign! 

TOMATO TASTING!!!

Absolutely and positively going to be a fun afternoon at Carefree Living in Burnsville tomorrow.  We are going to delight the residents with our wonderful heirloom tomatoes.  We will be taking Brownberry, Hartman's Gooseberry, Green Grape, and Sweeties a full range of colors - brown, yellow, green, and red.  A medley of other varieites such as Sudduth's Brandywine, Plum Lemon, Red Zebra, Green Zebra, Gold Medal, Beefstake, and San Marzano. 

See you at 3:30 everyone!!!

THURSDAY - AUGUST 19

Did I say tomato?  Oh ya and lots of them!!!  See you Thursday, 4pm to 8pm, at the corner of 4th and Broadway!!!

Other good stuff:
Peppers hot - think salsa!
Peppers sweet - think stuffed with tomatoes!
Zucchini - think bread!
Squash summer - think BREAD, yes I said BREAD - see the recipe below!
Cucs - think tomato and cucs!
Cabbage - think slaw!
Flowers - think beautiful!
Cuttings - basils, thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley

BUTTERSCOTCH SQUASH BREAD

Makes 1 loaf

(from All New Square Foot Gardening Cookbook)

1/2 cup oil

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 cup grated yellow squash (1 medium-large squash)

1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1 package instant butterscotch pudding mix
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Beat the oil and sugars in a large bowl until well mixed and creamy-looking.  Add the eggs and mix well.  Add the squash and vanilla and mix well.

Combine the flour, oats, pudding mix, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon in a large bowl and mix well.  Make a well in the center.  Spoon or pour the squash mixture into the well.  Mix until no white streaks of flour remain.

Spoon the mixture into a greased 9 or 10-inch loaf pan.  Bake for about 1 hour.  Cool in the pan for 10 minutes; remove and cool completely.  While it is cooling please drive out to 30648 Cty 2 Blvd and share!!!!  

TOUCH-ME-NOT

EXCEPTIONAL SUNDAY HELP!!!

Everyone jumps in and helps as the harvest becomes more intense.  The weather is perfect, 73 degrees and 47% humidity.  Even though it's Sundy we still have work to do and we had exceptional help this morning.  Bob and Barb arrived just in time to help destem and sort as Michael, Bette, and I harvested.

Michael and Bette took a break and headed over to the Amaya garden, housing the winter squash, to peek at all the beautiful fruit nestled in the vines.  A bountiful thank you for your help and for the cookies to keep us going.

TIS THE SEASON

Cool air, less humidity, crisp skies, red tomatoes, green jalapenos - tis the season for canning.  Jalapeno jelly, habanero gold jelly, sun-dried tomato jelly here we come!!!

GOOD MORNING COOLNESS

After yesterday, today feels like heaven with the exception of the excessive amount of wind and rain we received early this morning.  Wells Creek is running brown and rising quickly and we witnessed a huge log whistling by in the rising waters.  The gardens took, yet, another beating but all buildings are intact. 

Thank you to all who supported us last night at market in Rochester.  We will do our best to continue to salvage our tomato harvest and continue bringing in product on Thursdays.  A reminder that you can also purchase tomatoes at Rochester Produce rochesterproduce.com or head over to ZZEST zzestmarket.com and enjoy them, already prepared, from their fabulous menu. 

It's quiet now and the sun is sneaking peeks between the clouds but the forecast holds additional interesting weather for today.  Enjoy the coolness and happy Friday.

Rogue Canna Lily that "appeared" in the onion row.

THURSDAY - AUGUST 12

It's gonna be a scorcher tomorrow, Thursday - August 12,  but we will be at the corner of 4th and Broadway in Rochester from 4pm to 8pm with bell's on!  Kidding, but we will be there and bringing the following:

TOMATOES:
Brownberry Cherry - sweet, delicious with every bite - brown cherry tomato.
Stupice - not stupid, but STUPENDOUS - small, red tomato with great flavor.
Wisconsin 55 - Excellent, all purpose tomato and great for canning.
Green Zebra - they are ripe and lots of them with a sweet zingy flavor.
Green Sausage - Rich, sweet flavor - great for making sauces!
Gold Medal - Questionable....if not check with ZZEST.
Cherry Roma - Great fresh or dried.  Addictive, with a sweet/spicy flavor.
Chalk's Early Jewel - Good flavor balance.
Giant Syrian - Very meaty, few seeds and excellent flavor.
Sweet Pea Currant - Excellent clean tomato flavor.  Great as a garnish or mixed with pasta and garlic!

PEPPERS - SWEET

Tolli's Sweet Italian - Great added to tomato sauces.
King of the North - Bell , great sweet flavor.

PEPPERS - HOT
Jalapeno
Ho Chi Min - yellow cayenne


OTHER PRODUCE
Squash
Zucchini - (Please see previous blog post for recipe using zucchini, tomatoes, and basil.)
Cucs
(You can make the best refrigerator pickles - fast, easy, super tasty, and last for at least a month in the frig.  Cucs and onions and seasonings - white vinegar, mustard seed, celery seed, sugar, and kosher salt.  Takes no time at all.)
Green Beans
Cabbage - Gonzales (green), Caraflex (green - cone shaped), and Super Red 80 (red)

(We made an awesome slaw with green cabbage and carrots, almonds, green onions.  The dressing was cider vinegar, olive oil, sugar, and salt.)
As always - herbs for clippings.

If you do not see something you are interested in give a shout and we'll see if we have it to bring along.  651.388.6378

GOT PASTA?

Green Zebra, Red Zebra, Stupice, and Hartmans Gooseberry

We got the tomatoes to go with it!!!  Here's a garden-fresh recipe perfect for a warm summer evening dinner using fresh tomatoes, zucchini, and basil - which you can pick up tomorrow (Thursday, August 12) at the corner of 4th and Broadway.

Marinated Zucchini with Bow Ties

 (adapted from Food and Wine Magazine's - Quick From Scratch Pasta Cookbook).

Serves 4

1/3 cup plus 3T olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced (we use way more)

2 pounds zucchini (about 4), cut in half lengthwise and then cut crosswise into 1/4" slices

2 1/2 tsp salt

3/4 pound plum tomatoes (about 6) seeded and diced.  (Now here's where we stray from the recipe - we added about 6 to 8 Black Krims and didn't seed them, but we did dice them.)

1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped (Again - we added more.)

1/4 cup plus 1T wine vinegar (For more sweetness you can substitute balsamic vinegar.) (We added less due to the liquid from the tomatoes and we didn't want the vinegar taste to overpower the dish.)

1 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 pound bow ties

1)  In a large frying pan, heat 1 T of the oil over moderate heat.  Add the garlic, zucchini, and 1/2 tsp salt.  Cook, stirring occasionally until tender, about 5 minutes.  Transfer zucchini to a large stainless steel, glass, or ceramic bowl and stir in tomatoes, basil, vinegar and the remaining salt and pepper.

2)  Cook your pasta according to package directions.  Drain and toss with the zucchini and tomato marinade.  You can add the remaining 1/3 cup oil (we did not.)

Michael had his helping with parmesan cheese and I had mine with sheep cheese.  Bon Appetit!

SOL 'N TYNE IN THE MORNING

All you are going to see are the herb (Yuli), tomato (Bella), veg and flower (Ellie), and beans and vine (Amaya) gardens, lots of weeds, views of the hills hidden in fog, and horses running. The quality is poor and there is a lot of camera shake. You will either enjoy this or find it boring. This is Sol 'N Tyne in the morning.

THE HEAT IS ON

On this hot, sultry, August day we harvested tomatoes and processed our seconds. The temp was in the 90's, humidity the same, and no wind and yes we do this outside. The process creates an incredible tomato paste we freeze and use throughout the year.

Set up and ready to go.  Michael did all the processing after I gathered and sorted out the prime tomatoes from, what we classify, our seconds.  Seconds are a tomato that have blemishes but still have eatable sections.

The fresh herbs Michael gathered from the Yuli Herb Garden and additional spices.

Almost complete.  The final steps are freezing the paste and then cutting it into good sized portions and vacuum sealing in bags.

AFTER MARKET

Bella, Amaya, and Noelia worked as a team and distributed left over product after Thursday's market.  They enjoyed going to their neighbors and handing out tomatoes, flowers, and Ellie left the business card!

RISE AND SHINE

It's market day!!!  The eastern horizon is glowing and the coffee is brewing.  At 4:00 this afternoon you could be tasting these deliciously juicy, and sweet tomatoes.  Think BLT with organic mayo, homemade bread, a Black Krim tomato, thick juicy bacon (for the vegan's - substitute the B with more L), greens of your choice (try a ruby red chard leaf), oh and for something a little different - blue cheese or better yet sheep's cheese.  Might have one for breakfast.

In this pic are a Giant Syrian, Black Krim, Stupice, Speckled Roman, and a Chalk's Early Jewel.

RECIPE - CHARD AND KALE

Swiss chard is in the beet family and kale is in the cabbage family and both are rich in flavor, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, and dietary fiber.  Here is a recipe that will combine both plus you can add the super fresh tomatoes.  Delicious and healthy!!

KALE AND CHARD SAUTE

· 1 large bunch kale or chard or a mixture

· 4 or 5 fresh mushrooms, sliced

· 2 garlic cloves, minced

· Chopped red onion

· 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter

· Chopped fresh tomatoes – any variety

· 1/3 cup of one of the following: dried figs, raisins, dried cherries or cranberries, or sun-dried tomatoes

· 1/4 cup of one of the following: pecans or walnuts, chopped

· Fresh goat or sheep cheese

Directions

1. Wash greens well and chop roughly. Set aside in a colander to drain.
2. In a large non-stick skillet, heat oil or melt butter.
3. Add garlic, onion, and mushrooms and saute 2 minutes.
4. Add greens, dried fruit or sun-dried tomatoes and stir and cover to steam.
5. Cook, stirring occasionally, until greens are bright, dark green and tender, and heated through, about 5 minutes.
6. Stir in fresh tomatoes.
7. Top with chopped nuts and sprinkle with cheese and serve!!

THURSDAY - AUGUST 4

Tomatoes are NOT on the vine - they are turning red faster than we can pick!  The following list is coming to town Thursday - August 4.  Remember from 4 to 8 at the corner of 4th and Broadway - Rochester.

TOMATOES - Black krims, brownberry cherry, giant syrian, chaulk's early jewel, and a handful of speckled romans.
MINI-CABBAGE - Gonzales (green), Caraflex (cone shaped green), and Super Red 80 (red).
ONIONS - Scallions and red
BEANS - green
CHARD - swiss, ruby red, and five color
KALE - dwarf blue and red russian
PEPPERS - sweet and hot
CARROTS - scarlet nantes and cosmic purple (yes they are purple on the outside but orange when you cut them open - sweet and juicy).
BEETS - bulls blood beet
SQUASH - summer
ZUCCHINI - black beauty
CUCUMBERS - early fortune
TOMATILLO'S - Potentially, there is a lot of fruit - not sure if they will be quite ripe.  If not this week - next week for sure.
CLIPPINGS - We do fresh clippings directly from the plant -- parsley, many basil varieties, thyme, rosemary, oregano, sage.

FLOWERS - limited number of bouquets.

ARE YOU TIRED OF THE SAME OLD RED TOMATO?

Are you willing to experiement and try new colors?  They won't be THE perfect, round, no blemishes tomato you are used to seeing in your favorite grocery store.  PLUS they won't taste like cardboard either.  FINALLY, you will have to pay a bit more because they are grown naturally and local.  YOU will experience a juicy, sweet, oh my goodness taste that leaves you craving for more.

DEFINITION - HEIRLOOM TOMATO (adapted from the Gary Ibsen's Tomatofest website - http://www.tomatofest.com/)
An heirloom is generally considered to be a variety that has been passed down, through several generations of a family because of it's valued characteristics. Since 'heirloom' varieties have become popular in the past few years there have been liberties taken with the use of this term for commercial purposes.
Commercial Heirlooms: Open-pollinated varieties introduced before 1940, or tomato varieties more than 50 years in circulation.
Family Heirlooms: Seeds that have been passed down for several generations through a family.
Created Heirlooms: Crossing two known parents (either two heirlooms or an heirloom and a hybrid) and dehybridizing the resulting seeds for how ever many years/generations it takes to eliminate the undesirable characteristics and stabilize the desired characteristics, perhaps as many as 8 years or more.
Mystery Heirlooms: Varieties that are a product of natural cross-pollination of other heirloom varieties.

(Note: All heirloom varieties are open-pollinated but not all open-pollinated varieties are heirloom varieties.)

BROWNBERRY

Yes, these are brown cherry tomatos.  Snackingly delicious one-by-one or toss handfuls of them with salad greens, oil and vinegar and sheep's cheese!  However you devour them you won't be disappointed.