Titus Farms

Thanks to everyone who filled out the 2009 Survey, it will be closing in about 24 hours. If you haven’t had a chance yet, you should have at least one reminder in your inbox.

You can still claim your prize if I see you at market too!

So I haven’t had much opportunity to write very much this season Sorry about that, crappy internet access and long days don’t mix very well…

We finally had a freeze though… I even heard the weatherman say that the station would no longer issue frost-freeze advisories since all the vegetation is dead!

But today, our trusty and spectacular crew finished our new greenhouse! I’ll try to get some pics up. Thanks to all of our supportive customers and loyal CSAers we can finally complete the next stage of our greenhouse build. When all is said and done we will have 2 new greenhouses (unheated, so really they’re called hoophouses) in which to grow greens and other crops like tomatoes or more okra!

I think this will really help with a more steady supply of lettuce mix and spinach which we really struggled to supply on a a consistant basis. This also means that we will now go into serious planning for a winter CSA (for NEXT YEAR). We’ve had a lot of inquiries as to the status of a winter CSA, but it seems like whenever we want to try to get ready, we either run out of production space or have a crop loss that would make it more difficult.

Thanks to everyone who filled out our 2009 Survey too- if you haven’t received the correct link or are having problems please let Rebecca know.

While Paul is much better at detecting a ripe watermelon in the field, it is still something that occasionally confounds me. This happens to be our first year also growing Honeydew melons, something that none of us on the farm have eaten very much. Growing up with muskmelon, it was also the first choice above anything else, so I guess none of us were really exposed.

Muskmelons are strikingly different from watermelons and honeydew for one big reason. When a muskmelon is ripe it is said to “slip” from the vine. Meaning when you give the fruit a gentle tug, or even disturb the union of the vine and fruit at all, the fruit will detach. Watermelon and honeydew, as we’re learning, musk be cut from their plant when the first tendril or leaf has died. Well, this is what they say…

Another grower-friend of ours called us last night to report about his watermelon troubles. Mainly, that the cloudy and cold conditions have created a bit of a melon mystery. He has ripe watermelons which show no sign of being ripe, but when they’re smashed open, as is frequently done in the field, the fruit is truly ripe.

And we thought we were going crazy! What this means for you is that we’re even more unsure of whether the melons are ripe this year. We’ll do our best…

And a note about the honeydews- we’ve tasted ripe, unripe and overripe of this variety. It seems that the really overripe ones are sweeter but incredibly mealy and squishy- bordering on gelatin. The ripe ones (from what we’ve gathered) are sweet, but not sweeter than the muskmelon. They seem to not have the in-your-face flavor of muskmelons either. The unripe ones basically taste reminiscent of cucumbers. Thus, we’re not sure if it’s the weather or the variety- but don’t expect anything too fantastic from the honeydews. I thought they were good- but better when mixed with the watermelons in a salad. I think next year we’re going to try a different variety though. Let me know what you think of them though or if you have suggestions for a nice variety.

So we missed one Bok Choy and it got kind of enormous….

The recent rains and heat have created a surplus of squash! (Of course I say this now, and by some horrible stroke of luck, there’s no squash ). But I received this recipe from a CSA member, and it sounds pretty darn good.

Here’s a link:

Parmesan Zucchini Sticks with Smoky Roasted Romesco Sauce

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I’m constantly referring to Mark Bittman’s book “How to Cook Everything.” It’s where many of the CSA recipes are inspired from and where I find basic information on almost everything.
Someone in the CSA put me on to the following Frittata recipe, published in the New York Times yesterday, and when I saw that it was written by Mark Bittman I felt confident in recommending it. I imagine it would be rather good with kohlrabi, broccoli, potatoes or even any of the greens. Mint might also be a good choice for the herb in the recipe if using peas as the vegetable. Enjoy and please keep the recommendations coming.

July 15, 2009
More-Vegetable-Than-Egg Frittata

By MARK BITTMAN
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1/2 onion, sliced (optional)
Salt and ground black pepper
4 to 6 cups of any chopped or sliced raw or barely cooked vegetables
1/4 cup fresh basil or parsley leaves, or 1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon or mint leaves, or any other herb
2 or 3 eggs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional).

1. Put olive oil or butter in a skillet (preferably nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron) and turn heat to medium. When fat is hot, add onion, if using, and cook, sprinkling with salt and pepper, until it is soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add vegetables, raise heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften, from a couple of minutes for greens to 15 minutes for sliced potatoes. Adjust heat so vegetables brown a little without scorching. (With precooked vegetables, just add them to onions and stir before proceeding.)

2. When vegetables are nearly done, turn heat to low and add herb. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender.

3. Meanwhile, beat eggs with some salt and pepper, along with cheese if you are using it. Pour over vegetables, distributing them evenly. Cook, undisturbed, until eggs are barely set, 10 minutes or so; run pan under broiler for a minute or 2 if top does not set. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 2 or 4 servings.