Beauregards Farm Newsletter-Aug/Sept 2008

Kids are back in school, spiders are busier by night, the days are becoming more compressed between sunrise and sunset. The evening temperatures perhaps have us thinking about wrapping up in comfortable sweaters while considering our evening meals with a bit more contemplation. Carrots, eggplant, sweet tomatoes, peppers, squash- all add up to stew accompanied by fat biscuits or crusty bread. For added flavor to compliment the mix of crops mentioned- garlic, basil, thyme, rosemary and tarragon if you're considering placing that stew over the top in terms of a wow! taste.

The summer is drawing to a close, and perhaps a few folks like me are ready for it to cool down, to no longer insist that we carry an umbrella wherever we go. AAAHHH, yes-September is whispering it's sweet sentiments to me already. In the garden, waiting for the changes soon to come are lettuces not quite at their peak of flavor, though the cool nights will bring about such sweetness! And the spinach will be ready by mid September as will the radishes and beets and sweet dumpling squash. The fall garden is one to be savored- it is this farmer's dream come true- less weeding, virtually no bugs munching at my mercy, and the sun's rays are more warming, less heat intensive- feels like a comforting blanket wrapped around my shoulders. This- a second spring - beckons us to look upon the crops with new eyes- see the bold orange of the pumpkins, view the deeper greens in the leaf, savor the sight of fields aplenty. It is all good and hearty and right that we embrace this time as it embraces us with a gentleness that awakens our senses to the beauty abounding in everything.

Recipe~(adapted,changed and completely rearranged)

Garden Patch Stew

4 Medium sized Tomatoes, chopped
(or 1 can Italian style tomatoes)
4 Medium potatoes, cut into chunks
4 Medium carrots, cut into 1/2 in. chunks
2 Medium Eggplants, peeled and chunked
2 med to small squash, peeled and chunked
1 Large onion, cut into chunks
2-3 cloves of Garlic
1 can chicken broth(for healthier, less sodium overload- use your own homemade chicken or vegetable stock)
Fresh Thyme(1-2 TBS.)
Fresh Rosemary(2 sprigs or more....)
salt to taste
pepper
3 TBS cornstarch
3 TBS water

In dutch oven, cook down a bit the tomatoes, add broth, add potatoes,carrots,squash,onions- turn to a boil then simmer into almost tender(about 12-15 minutes)- add eggplant and now cook everything until tender(6-8 minutes more).
Add spices and garlic, stew until the smell arrives and says yes, this is good!(from 4-8 minutes)
In a small bowl mix corn starch with cold water well, add to stew, increase heat just until thickening begins, lower heat until thickening levels out, stirring with some constancy, but be gentle. If your stew appears still too thin, repeat the cornstarch step, adding just a bit until the correct consistency is arrived at.
(For a heartier stew, brown chicken, beef or whatever you prefer before the tomato step, adding all the ingredients on top of the meat.)

Serve this with crusty bread and a salad. Follow up with apple crisp. Invite me over.

(***all of the bold ingredients can be found at market.)


See you at the market!

...other things

Good morning crew, thanks for checking in...always something of a mishmash here, huh? My summer readership is down, my writing is taking a back seat to farming and I suspect that many are as busy as I. That's good! Being busy, productive and enjoying the summer as we all should. Even the humidity has it's perks- the flowers here at Beauregards are blooming as fast as fireworks lit up in the sky. Every corner I round here has an explosion of color and fragrance. And just this morning, a quail called from out under the honeysuckle hedge...my french intern loves to hear the bird songs. Even the starlings have him seduced by their chirps to their babies above the porch swing. He was saddened by the boot two little fledglings received from their mama upon the porch floor. He gathered them up and tried to save them, nestling the lone survivor in his palm, keeping it warm with a cloth and his breath. He was even more saddened to learn that mama bird knows when a little one might not survive, and kicks it out so the stronger, healthier ones might surmount the odds of life against them. It was a touching scene...this young man of twenty, from the city- innocent to the ways of the wild. Sadly, he acknowledged he could not save the little bird he fell in love with...but I explained that the little bird knew of his devotion, and upon it's passing at least knew of love and warmth...that he had made a difference, to this one little life.

Yesterday was our first really big adventure into farm marketing. We had a space at the Illinois Farmer's Product Market at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. People turned out in droves...how wonderful to see the interest in local food, we sold out...by 5:30, intending to hold out till 7:00. I had a smorgasbord of herbs on hand, mixed mesclun greens, onions, fresh garlic, spinach, chard...and recipes! That was the key to selling everything I think...people really want to converse with the producer, want to feel safe and knowledgeable these days, about their food. I felt triumphant and exhausted last evening. Our stand (I explained to my intern) must be beautiful and fragrant and interesting. We did not sit the whole time we were there, so many came and went- some walked away with flowers, some rolled away with fresh garlic sticking out of a bag I attached to the back of their wheel chair. Yes, one lady- one sweet heart of a soul rolled right up and smiled an everlasting smile, spoke of her love for cooking and freshness...so many reasons to cry- this one, but she smiled and carried on. You just never know what form inspiration might take in your daily toil. Smiles on wheels. Yep.

I held a "Farm EC" class it seemed last night- every one wanting to know how to use this herb and how to prepare a vinaigrette that brings a subtle discreet flavor to an already bold mix of greens. I felt like teacher, farmer, philosopher and check out queen. The tally was added up at the end of the market, I couldn't have been more pleased. Next market Thursday...more recipes, more garlic(seems everyone wanted garlic) and chard- a favorite vegetable of mine. So, very soon- I will post recipes here, get folks to try an unimaginable mix of flavors that just might make one's senses pop in such a way that makes dining as passionate as...other things.

Have a really good one, I mean it...no holds barred goodness. Go for it, take care-