White House Gardens Week #17, October 7, 2010

Week #17    October 7, 2010
The recent rains provided at least an inch of much needed moisture.  The fall crops grow much slower with the cooler temperatures and shorter days.  The broccoli and cauliflower are progressing nicely, and Brussels  sprouts will be in your share next week.  I would rather pick the Brussels  sprouts after a frost, which makes them sweeter, but they are ready now.  Most of the crops I will be harvesting in the next 3 weeks are covered with row cover to keep the deer from helping themselves to a salad buffet. 

The deer will begin to move out of the woods with the cooler temperatures, especially if we get a frost and there is nothing left for them to eat.  I have tried many ways to keep them out of the garden, unsuccessfully.  The row cover does a good job of “hiding” the crops from the deer .  The last 3 shares will probably include broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, kale, beets, fennel, chard, turnips, broccoli raab, carrots, potatoes, and onions.  Hopefully we will have a warm, dry October to help these crops along. 

Lettuce  Winter Marvel, a butterhead
Arugula  Not in all shares
Sweet Pepper s  Long, red Carmen, my favorite.  Try making  Pureed Red Pepper & Potato Soup from Recipes For Health or see the recipe from Denny Archey in the previous email I sent.
Lima Beans  These are fresh, in the shell limas.  Try to shell them as soon as possible.  Shell them and cook them soon, or store in the frig in their shell for a short time.  They are at their best when cooked and eaten soon.  This was my first attempt at growing limas, and I think I will do it again.  The plants were beautiful, but the beans take a long time to mature.  Some of the pods may have large beans and some may not have much at all.  (Think baby limas)  They are not easy to shell:  try snapping off the tip and pulling the “string” down on both sides, which should help to open the pod easier.  I have cooked them several times and my favorite method is to steam/sauté them.  Put the shelled beans in a skillet, add enough water just to barely cover, salt, and a tablespoon of butter.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook, covered, until barely tender, about 8 minutes.  Remove the cover, turn up the heat, and boil away the water until the beans are completely tender. 
Potatoes  Rio Grande Russet and Adirondak Red.  Most of the russets are small, a result of not being able to keep the potato plants healthy and free of disease for the entire growing season.  Russets are good for baking.  Adirondak Red has red skin and pinkish-red flesh which is a result of naturally occurring anthocyanin pigments, chock full of anitoxidants.  Its color fades when boiled, but remains when roasting, baking or frying. 
Kale  Red Russian variety.  See previous newsletters for recipes.  Or try freezing kale and other greens to use during the winter.  See a recipe from shareholder Pat Brannon for freezing greens in the newsletter. 
Onions  Yellow onions for cooking
Delicata or Acorn Squash  Delicata has mulit-colored skin, Acorn is dark green.  Both can be used in recipes calling for winter squash, however the skin of the delicata is edible, the acorn is not.  I like to roast winter squash, either cut in half or cubed.  Scoop out the seeds and roast, cut side down, at 400 degrees until tender.  Baste with melted butter, sprinkle with brown sugar, and broil until browned.   Or cut into cubes and add to potatoes, onions, peppers, toss with olive oil, S & P, and roast at 400 degrees until tender.

Freezing all kind of greens…
Debbie asked me to share with you a simple method for freezing greens. This week we have mustard greens in our box, but you can freeze any type of greens, even those tops from turnips, kohlrabi and beets. These make a pleasing addition to winter stews and soups, especially those minestrones.
If you are freezing the greens from beets or other roots vegetables, cut the greens from the root while they are crisp and fresh. Young tenders greens yield the best results, so start with the freshest possible.
Fill your sink or a bowl with cold water and give the greens a good rinse.
Remove the toughest portion of the stems. You can freeze the stems, but chop them first and set aside. 
Fill a 4 quart pot about 2/3 full with water and bring to a boil. If you are saving the stems, throw them into the pot first and wait about 1 minute before adding the greens. Add the greens and cover the pot. Now watch the clock! For all except collard greens, blanch for blanch for an additional 2 minutes. For collard greens, blanch 3 minutes.
If you have lots of the same type of greens you can use the same blanching water several times, adding more hot water from the tap from time to time to maintain the water level.
While the greens are blanching prepare a large bowl with ice and cold water.
Using a slotted spoon or strainer with a handle, quickly remove the greens from the pot and transfer to the ice bath for about 2 minutes.
Drain well. You can gently squeeze the excess water from the greens, but be gentle, as to not crush those tender greens.
I use quart size, freezer zip loc bags, removing as much air from the bag as possible before zipping. Be sure to label the bag so you remember what kind of greens you have blanched. Once they are frozen, all they will all look the same!