ahhh...the farm

Now that the tomatoes
are doing well I have to
blog about the farm again.
CSAs are just the best
most satisfying way to
obtain local organic produce.
You know the farmer, help
work the fields, have a say
in what gets planted, know
the water source that irrigates the soil, harvest a lot of your own produce (unless it's a delivery style CSA like some farms), and have the kids learning about where their food comes from hands on.


Sometimes I feel bad
talking so much about
our local farm, Stearns
Farm CSA, because it's
just sooo good. There's
a several hundred person
waiting list. Yeah. It's that wonderful. And if you don't renew by January you're outta there! But almost everyone does. 95% of familes this year returned. Considering that people move and such, that's really impressive.
Here's Nate toting 2 quarts of purslane on his head. Purslane is essentially a weed to most people in the U.S., but one of the most nutritious and delicious weeds you've ever tasted! It's growing among the crops, shading the root veggies, free for the taking.

Before the basil is even
out of the greenhouse,
there is purslane popping
up among the rows. I
topped some whole wheat
pita pizzas with purslane
pesto, then added Daiya
mozzarella. Perfection.

The good news is there
are new CSAs opening
every year. In fact the farm around the corner from ours began offering shares 2 years ago, and now they are utilizing the field adjoining Stearns Farm for organic crops, instead of hay as they did in the past. I'm sure the Community Supported Agriculture model will only continue to grow.

other things

So I lied. I didn't blog once over the three day weekend! But it's so rare to have my husband home BOTH days AND have the weather be PERFECT. I took advantage of the time to get some cleaning done and just hang out with my family.

I didn't have time to put too much thought into Ryan's lunch as I was busy with other things...
Ryan's lunch: white bean & purslane hummus; a pickle; carrot sticks; poppyseed thyme crackers; chocolate chip cookie; smoked Tofurky sandwich on a crescent roll.

He had music today
for the first time in
1st grade, so I stuck
in a music notes pick
and a frozen cookie
and called it good! His
drink bottle was filled
with rice & almond milk.
I seemed to guess right
on the amount of hummus
as it came back empty.

What WAS I doing with myself on Labor Day the evening before school?? Preparing for the
preschool opening night event...
I had never attempted fruit carving before, but I'd always wanted to try it. A word of advice...get yourself the right tools first. Trying to carve all this with a dull paring knife was a heck of a lot harder than I'd anticipated! I'd love to take a class about this sort of thing, but I may have to settle with a how-to book and a good set of proper knives for xmas.

I used
the
melon
salad
with
mint
that
I made
last
weekend
to fill
the
melon.
And I
picked
fresh
mint
edible
flowers
this
after-
noon
for
garnish. Here it is on display ready to feed the masses.
There were a few other melon plates, one just watermelon, another that included pineapple and honeydew. Nice that they were all different.

It was
quite
the
spread
this
evening,
an im-
pressive
selection
of app-
etizers.
Lots of
veggies
and
hummus
to munch!

But
then
there
was
also
the
dessert table...









...which even had a small
vegan chocolate cake! I
made sure to have some
cake first, just in case the building was destroyed by a rogue asteroid.

This morning Nate got together with his class for a playdate at the preschool playground...





















Maia came along of
course. Hard to believe
we'll be putting down
a deposit for her for
the 2010/2011 toddler
class in a few weeks!

ready...set....

School starts tomorrow for my two oldest. I went shopping last night and this morning, and picked up our produce share at the farm this afternoon. I hope I'm prepared!

So before I return to devoting most of my posts to school bentos, here are a last few family picnic-style meals of the summer, and a recipe...

Muffin tin meals are a novelty that don't always accomodate the food being served, so sometimes I'll choose to use a platter or deeper party or dip plate instead.

Another benefit to picnics and shared meals...less to clean!

The purslane at the farm is
everywhere, growing huge
as if it were intentionally
planted. While it doesn't last
more than a few days after
being harvested, it doesn't
matter as there is always
more, and more, and more
to be weeded...I mean, picked!

String Beans & Sprouts with Purslane

2-3 T. peanut oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4-1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce
1-2 quarts string beans, I chose to pick young yellow wax beans for contrast
2 T. soy sauce (or tamari or shoyu)
3 cups mung bean sprouts
1 big bunch purslane
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. mirin or sugar

Wash & trim beans, then snap in half.
Rinse purslane and roughly chop it.
Heat peanut oil in a large pot (at least 3 qt. capacity) or wok over medium-high heat. Add garlic & hot sauce.
As soon garlic begins to
sizzle, and beans and 1 T.
of the soy sauce. Stir fry
briefly, then cover, reduce
heat to medium, and cook
for 3 minutes.
Remove cover, add bean
sprouts and remaining soy
sauce, and stir fry for 1 minute.
Add purslane, salt, and mirin. Stir fry until purslane barely begins to wilt. Remove from heat.

This is delicious served over
brown rice. I also made some
spicy baked tofu with added
mushrooms and onions to
accompany it. Very satisfying!




Just because summer vacation
is coming to an end, doesn't
mean no more lemonade stands!
Ryan has a new business plan
though...




He is fortunate to live
almost next door to his
school, so he walks home
and is one of the first
kids able to leave the
school. Also, kids who are picked up by car usually greet their parents who line up all along the curb RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR HOUSE. Since AJ is only going to half-day kindergarten, he will help me set up the stand. As soon as Ryan runs down the sidewalk, their plan is to sell snacks to all the kids leaving school. We'll see what the parents think of my son's entrepreneurial scheme!
Last weekend the boys did quite well selling banana muffins, chips & homemade chive hummus, and mango lemonade. But I think cupcakes are in order for the first after school stand!

Pesto x3

When the basil comes in, I'm all about making pesto to freeze for those dreary days in early December. I make mine thick, and thin it with olive oil or pasta cooking water when I'm
ready to use it.

Using ingredients like purslane (treated as a weed in the U.S. and a delicacy in Europe), walnuts, and walnut oil, really give meals a boost of omega-3 fatty acids.

Use your pesto on pasta, sandwiches, bruschetta, or as a dip. Or toss it with shaved ribbons of zucchini & summer squash with some chopped tomato. Beautiful! Truthfully, I'd be happy to sit down with a bowl of pesto and a spoon, haha.

Purslane Pesto

1 cup purslane
3-4 cups basil
1/2 tsp. salt
4-6 cloves garlic
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4-1/3 cup olive oil

Wash purslane and basil. Put first 5 ingredients in a food processor. Add olive oil while processing, until ingredients come together to form a thin paste.

Kale Pesto

2-3 large kale leaves, stems removed
2-3 cups basil
1/2 tsp. salt
4-6 cloves garlic
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup walnut oil
1/4 cup olive oil

Wash basil. Put first 5 ingredients in a food processor. Add walnut oil and olive oil while processing, until ingredients form a paste.

Pine Nut Pesto

3-4 cups basil
1/2 tsp. salt
4-6 garlic cloves
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/4-1/3 cup olive oil

Wash basil. Put first 4 ingredients in a food processor. Add olive oil while processing, until ingredients form a thin paste.