p i c k l i s t
Zucchini - summer squash - cauliflower - lettuce - cucumbers - lemonbalm - heirloom tomatoes
Spent the past two days harvesting for CSA and watching the river rise. Not a ton for us to do other than watch. All day Monday we played eye spy with this one particularly low field at the farm. I must have have done 16 drive-by’s just eyeing the water level and taking note of every change. The concern is that once the water crests in that once particular spot, we have about 50 minutes until that field is totally flooded. That field is home to our carrot crop (remember those beauties from last week?), 4 greenhouses, strawberries, and all of our herbs. It would be a massive hit. The river never peaked right there, and we were mostly alright. The water did pool up considerably around the herbs and one of our lower greenhouses. As a result, you will see a massive cut back in herbs over the next few weeks. All in all, we experienced very little loss. But the ground is still so damn heavy and saturated and this summer remains the perfect breading ground for disease and rot and not a morning goes by that I put on dry boots.
And while we walked away extremely lucky, so many others did not. I’m thinking of our buds at Hurricane Flats Farm in South Royalton and Joe’s Brook Farm in Barnet. All of our farms experience the total joy of planting crops on alluvial (river bottom) soil. That proximity to rivers and streams makes for great farming. These fields tend to be flat and long and rich and easy to irrigate. Flooding can occur, but moments of catastrophic destruction are known to happen very rarely, every 100 years… and here we are 12 years later since Irene, and it all feels like too much too soon. Not to mention this flood on the heels of that extremely late Spring kill frost, and farming in smokey air. The 2023 growing season is absolutely going on record as one of the hardest years to grow food. But here we are, and at this point, let’s play ball.
One crop we went heavy on this week is cauliflower. Is it your favorite veg? I hope so. If not, it will be this week. We had to harvest our whole cauliflower crop ahead of the rains because this weather can turn your cauli from beautiful white delicious florets to rot in a heart beat, as a result you have 4(!) heads of cauliflower- which I know is alot, but also, in this case, is the nature of a CSA. Sometimes you get whole lot of something but I can assure you there is a good reason for it. And in other news that will hopefully cheer up this box of non stop rained on veg, hi hi to our beloved heirloom tomatoes that were grown inside a high ground greenhouse!
Alright sun, we are ready to see you shine now. ok?
FLOOD RELIEF, WAYS TO HELP:
FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS:
ZUCCHINI ON THE GRILL by Nigel slater:
Summer squash/zucchini
Zest and juice of a lemon
Olive oil- 3 tablespoons
Small bunch of fresh herbs
Wipe the zucchini and slice thinly along their length, no thicker than ⅛ inch thick. Put them in a colander in the sink. Grind over a little salt and leave for half and hour. Prepare the grill. Once they are covered with little beads of moisture- as if they have broken out in a flop sweat- pat them dry and put the slices on the hot grill. Let them brown lightly in stripes on the underside, then turn them over and brown them on the other side.
Meanwhile. Make the dressing. Grate the zest from the lemon into a mixing bowl. I do this finely and lightly, as any white pith will make the dressing bitter. Add the lemon juice, then beat in the olive oil with a fork or small hand whisk. Add a pinch of salt and black pepper. Coarsely tear the basil leaves, depending on their size- I like to leave small ones intact. Lightly crush them in the hand to release the oils, add them to the dressing. As each slice of zucchini becomes reasy, drop it into the dressing and mix gently so that the slices become completely soaked. Set aside for the flavors to marry and vegetables to soften slightly
REALLY JUST GO AHEAD AND GRILL IT ALL:
Grilled cauliflower wedges are perfectly tender and spiced after a quick steam and finish on the BBQ. Served with a luscious tahini yogurt, tangy sumac onions, and crispy chickpeas, this vegan main is so impressive.
SUMAC ONIONS
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons sumac
sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
TAHINI YOGURT
¼ cup tahini
¼ cup unsweetened vegan yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 small clove garlic, finely minced or grated with a Microplane
sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons cold water, plus extra
GRILLED CAULIFLOWER WEDGES
1 medium head cauliflower
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
TO SERVE:
crispy chickpeas (see notes)
chopped leafy herbs (cilantro, mint, parsley, basil or a mix)
extra drizzles of olive oil
NOTES:
I learned the sumac onions technique from Ottolenghi! I sub apple cider vinegar for lemon juice, but otherwise it’s the same.
My favourite unsweetened vegan yogurts for savoury applications are Yoggu or Culina.
I quickly tossed my chickpeas with oil, salt, and pepper and air fried them for 12 minutes at 390 to get them crispy, shaking the basket often. You could also accomplish this in the oven with the method that I outline in this recipe. If you have a bag of store bought crispy chickpeas hanging around, they would be great too!
If you don’t have a grill, I recommend roasting the steamed cauliflower wedges with all the spices, oil etc in a 400 oven for about 20 minutes, flipping the pieces over at the halfway point. You could also just break the cauliflower down into florets and skip the steaming step! If you’re doing that, I’d increase the roasting time to 40 minutes.
The sumac onions can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for up to 3 days. The yogurt tahini will keep for up to a week.
Make the sumac onions. In a medium bowl, combine the sliced onions, apple cider vinegar, sumac, salt, and pepper. Give them a toss with your hands and set aside for at least 20 minutes.
Make the tahini sauce. In a medium bowl, whisk together the tahini, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and water. The texture should be fluid but fluffy in a way. Add more water is necessary, and then set aside in the fridge.
Cut your cauliflower into 2-3-inch wedges, leaving the core intact. I flip the cauliflower head upside down and cut right through the core to have 2 equal halves. Then I cut each half into 4 even quarters.
Grab a large, deep skillet with a lid and pour a couple inches of water in. Bring that up to a simmer over medium heat on the stove. Add the cauliflower wedges to the skillet (or into a steamer basket if you have one) and place the lid on top. Steam until just tender in the core, about 7-8 minutes.
Set the steamed cauliflower wedges on a baking sheet and blot them dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels. In a small bowl, stir together the olive oil, maple syrup, paprika, garlic powder, and cumin. Brush this mixture on all sides of the cauliflower wedges. Season the cauliflower wedges on all sides with salt and pepper.
Preheat a grill to high. Lightly mist the grill with oil spray. Place the cauliflower wedges on the grill grates, shut the lid, and grill until char marks appear, about 3-4 minutes. Using tongs, gently flip the pieces over and char the other side for another 3-4 minutes.
To serve, swoop the tahini sauce over the surface of your serving platter. Arrange the grilled cauliflower wedges on top. Top the cauliflower with the sumac onions, crispy chickpeas, chopped herbs, and some little drizzles of olive oil. Enjoy immediately!
LEMON BALM: FOR ALL YOUR POST FLOOD FEELINGS, MAKE TEA, STEEP THIS HERB, DRINK IT COLD OR HOT, AND CALM YOUR NERVES.