Blue Schoolhouse Birthday Boy!

Hello Friends!

Today is a very special day … four years ago today I went into labor with Ben on my way in to work. It was a harvest day, and Bill was in the field with our then-farmhands April and Matt. I tried to ignore the obvious signs of labor, figuring I could ride it out (until when??). It was pretty obvious by the time I got to work that something was up. I called Bill to tell him the news. He gave his farmhands some quick instructions and left them in the field. Baby Ben was born a few hours later on June 25, 2004. Bill stayed with us all day and night. After a sleep-deprived night on the hospital pull-out bed, Bill drove back to the farm at 3:30 a.m. to pick up the truck full of what veggies the farmhands could pick and pack, and returned to town for the market.

Some of you may remember Bill that day … the proud dad with the hospital bracelet still on his wrist. Totally zombied out. I’m sure a few of you were shorted some change given the challenge of adding and subtracting while in a walking coma. And some people probably came out ahead! In any case, we appreciated all of the well wishes and general support. We brought Ben to the market the following week – I’d attach a photo of that, but I think the picture was taken with my mom’s camera. The pictures I’m attaching are from the first few months and then from his birthday this morning. He’s at that age where he can’t smile on command without doing that crazy little boy grimace (showing all teeth while scrunching eyes tightly shut – very natural looking). So we captured him looking serious about his gift of bungee cords, pulleys, ropes, caribiners, and a toolbox. He loves to use Bill’s cords/ropes to tie his tricycle to the barbecue grill and the front door, so now he has his own.

I regret to inform you that I’m still doing this blog via dial-up. Boo-hoo. We did hear from several very helpful people with suggestions on our best options. We are going to go with a Verizon cell phone thingy (I assume they’ll know what I mean!!).

Bill and his farmhands are making great progress in the field. They spent a good part of today trellising tomatoes in the greenhouse. It started great … the cloudiness had cooled off the greenhouse to a nice temperature. About halfway through trellising, the sun came out. Within minutes the greenhouse heated up like Death Valley. The guys couldn’t stop, though, as they were stuck mid-row with twine everywhere. By the time they emerged from the greenhouse, Brian said, “I feel like I just came out of hell.” And this from a guy who uses words sparingly.

Speaking of hell, we had a heaven-sent rain this morning. Bill could have cried, he was so happy to hear the pitter patter of raindrops on the window. He was facing the inevitability of irrigation … that means hours and hours of laying drip tape, walking back and forth to the water pump, and all-around suboptimal conditions for the veggies. The soaker that we received was just what the doctor ordered.

The hotter-than-Hades greenhouse also served as a reminder that we’re transitioning from the cool season crops to warm season crops. So bye-bye to spinach and mixed baby greens and hello to summer squash (a.k.a. zucchini) and more! It’s a great time for diversity, and in the coming weeks you’ll see us bringing quite the variety of veggies. The warm season crops are all easy to prepare with minimal effort. Take the summer squash … our favorite way to eat them is to slice them down the middle length-wise, cut slits into the cut-side, and brush with olive oil, balsamic, and salt/pepper. Lay it on the grill cut side up until tender. The kids absolutely love it! They just grab entire halves of summer squash and demolish it.

Fortunately, warm weather does not eliminate the greens altogether. We will have head lettuce, swiss chard and kale every week. I’m going to focus on chard this week. Chard is very versatile, and you can eat the entire leaf WITH the stalk. Even when the stalks are big, they are still amazingly juicy and tender. You can cook with chard in the same way that you cook with spinach. According to Vegetables A to Z (one of our favorite books), in France both the succulent stem and leaf are incorporated into daily fare as regularly as spinach in the U.S. The pale, broad stalks are simmered in fragrant bouillon that is then thickened and seasoned with pounded garlic and anchovies and presented alone, to star in the way that asparagus do. Or they are bathed in sauce and browned in a gratin. Leaves are folded into terrines, omelets and soups, pureed in gnocchi, wrapped around pork patties, and even made into a dessert pie. Be sure to share your favorite chard preparation on the blog!!

Bill will likely be harvesting most of the garlic next week. After harvesting it, we hang it all in huge bunches from the rafters in the garage, where it can dry out a bit. We will be bringing GARLIC SCAPES to the market again this week. We probably only have this week and next week before the scapes are history. Be sure to get in on this rare seasonal treat!

People have been pretty excited about the beets. We’ve finally made it into the field with the beets. (The first few weeks were beets out of the greenhouse.) We’ll be bringing three types – traditional red beets, golden beets, and chioggia beets. The goldens have a milder beet flavor than the reds, and they don’t bleed their color into the rest of the dish. The chioggias are the sweetest variety and have red and white stripes on the inside. Any of these beets can be grated raw onto a salad for a wonderfully sweet beet flavor, amazing nutrition, and an awesome aesthetic. Try this recipe:

Beet Salad*
(Chez Panisse by Alice Waters)

Use as many beets as you like in this recipe. Cut off the greens, leaving the top and tail on. Boil for about 20 minutes, or until they can be poked with a fork. Dump off the water and slip the skins off. (They should very easily slide off the beet without a knife. Wait until they’ve cooled off, though!) Top and tail the beets, and then quarter/cut them into bite-size pieces. Mix in vinegar (we prefer balsamic) – just enough to get all of the beets coated with it. Add salt and pepper and let it sit for at least an hour. This allows the beets to absorb the vinegar flavor. Then add olive oil – again, just enough to coat the beets. You’ll end up with a small puddle of vinegar and oil at the bottom, which is fine. Serve at room temperature. It’s easy and fabulous! It’s also infinitely variable … we like to add chopped walnuts, fresh parsley, and goat cheese.

* CAUTION: This beet salad recipe is likely to turn the most beet-skeptical into a beet-lover. Be sure to warn them that it can turn your pee pink. The boys consider that a major bonus!

Here’s what else we’ll be bringing to the market:

Head Lettuce
Beets
Garlic Scapes
Kale
Kohlrabi
Broccoli
Collard Greens
Parsley
Swiss Chard
Radicchio
Japanese Turnips
Summer Squash

The new bag system went well. We decided to charge 10 cents per bag, and people were pretty receptive. I’d estimate that we handed out 75% fewer bags than usual, which is AWESOME!! Thanks to all who brought their own bags and to those who were supportive of the new system.

Don’t forget that we’re delivering fresh veggies to Common Ground and the Garlic Press on Tuesday evenings …

On Tuesday evenings Bill delivers produce to Common Ground in downtown Bloomington and to the Garlic Press in Uptown Normal. So if you miss a market or just run out of veggies mid-week, head to Common Ground! And if you need the veggies prepared into a fabulous meal, Garlic Press is right down the road.

We’ll see you at the Downtown Bloomington Farmers Market on Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. – noon. BRING YOUR BAGS!! We’ll also be at the Trailside Market in Uptown Normal, every Tuesday from 3:30 – 6:00 p.m.

Please let your friends know about the blog. We plan to put out the email sign-up sheet during the market season again. Call us at 467-9228 or email us at blueschoolhouse@yahoo.com if you have questions.

Thanks!
Mercy Davison