Scott’s Movable Feast

For the Crema

1 12-16 ounce “Italian” eggplant

6 spearmint leaves

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon sugar

A few drops good quality balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large clove garlic

Preheat oven to 375º (or use a wood burning oven after intense heat has subsided).

Prick the eggplant all over with a fork. Roast the eggplant and garlic for 1 hour in a conventional oven or until eggplant is soft and collapsing in the wood-burning oven.

Cut the cooked eggplant in half and scrape out the soft flesh into a bowl and allow to cool.

Place the cooled eggplant in the bowl of a food processor, along with the spearmint, salt, sugar, vinegar, olive oil and garlic.  Purée to make a smooth cream.  Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

For the Zuchinni and to Complete

2 medium Costata Romanesca or Zucchini (as straight as possible)

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Cut off the stem end of the Costata Romanesca or zucchini. Using a mandolin or a vegetable peeler, slice the zucchini lengthwise into thin (1/16 inch) strips.

Season with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Leave to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. The zucchini strips will be more translucent and pliable after resting.

Place about 1 tablespoon of the crema filling on the cut end of the zucchini strips.

Roll the zucchini strip over the filling, chill rolls for 20 minutes, then plate and serve.

The Paulareds have been in since August 4th when both Reed Miller and Don Harlow Started picking them on their orchards 40 minutes south of here.

While not my favorite apple of the season (I am not the biggest McIntosh fan), Paulareds are a really good early apple. They are, at their peak, tart, juicy and crisp-fleshed, but once their season starts to decline they become mealy quickly.

Paulared was discovered around 1960 near a McIntosh block in the orchards of Lewis Arends of Sparta, Michigan. Mr. Arends named the new variety after his wife Pauline.

Parentage: McIntosh?
Origin: Sparta, Michigan, USA
Introduced/discovered: 1960
Season: Early August - Mid October
Use: Eating, Sauce

I had almost forgotten that the word “cloud” also had a plural. With more rain in the forecast for today, it’s hard to remember that we had some nice sunshine a couple of days this week. The fields remain soggy and the growing conditions difficult but, as usual our field crew keeps coming through with great produce from the farm.

I am off today to teach a wood-fired pizza class at King Arthur with my friend Rosemary (so no baked goodies from her this week either).

Be good and eat well.

New this week: Chinese Cabbage, Shiro Plums, Cantaloupe, Wildflower Honey.

Weekend Baked Goods: David’s Blueberry Pies

Stop by the stand between 10:00 am and 1:00 pm Tuesday August 5th and try one of the newest local artisanal food producer’s treats. Lisa Cadow is launching her traditional French crepe cart using fresh ingredients from the farm stand. You may have sampled her delicious crepes at Flavors of the Valley food event this Spring. This promises to be another Summer treat!

When Read Miller called me on July 25th offering the first organic apples of the season, I thought global warming must have hit the little town of Dummerston a bit harder than just about anywhere in the world. But I didn’t know about the early season gem that is Vista Bella.

For an early apple variety Vista Bella’s flavor is remarkably good, with a distinctly fruity taste reminiscent of raspberries (which happened to be displayed next to them the first day we had them at the stand!).  It won’t hold it’s shape in baking, but would probably make a fine sauce.

Like all early apples, Vista Bella does not keep well.  Its flavor and crispness decay very rapidly after picking. Store them in the refrigerator, not the fruit bowl, and serve them  still cool.

Parentage: Melba x Senora
Origin: New Jersey, USA
Introduced/discovered: 1956
Season: Late July
Use: Eating

So many wonderful things are appearing at the stand every day!

The corn has been fabulously delicious with only a few worms (oh my goodness, there’s nature in my nature!). Remember, if you get a bad ear home just let us know and we’ll happily replace it.

The organic peaches from Read and Mahla Miller are better than ever this year and seem to be begging to be grilled and served with crumbled blue cheese and drizzled with honey.

New this week: Bok Choi, Apples (Bella Vista and Jersey Macs), Organic Highbush Blueberries, Leeks, Organic Peaches, Blackberries, Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Local Churo Lamb Sausages (in the freezer).

Coming Soon: Celery, Organic Plums, Paula Red Apples.

Gone for the Season: Summer Raspberries

Weekend Baked Goods:
Rosemary’s Choice… What will she bring?
David’s Blueberry Pies

On Sale This Weekend:

Cauliflower $2.50/lb., Green Beans 2.79/lb., Vine Ripened Greenhouse Tomatoes $2.99/lb, Cabbage $1.19/lb., Eggplant (Italian and Japanese) $2.89/lb.

As many of you saw at the stand this weekend, chanterelles are finally in full bloom!

Our mushrooms are responsibly foraged by myself or people that I know and trust on land which the owner has given permission and in a sustainable manner that takes care not to over-harvest or disturb or harm the habitat in order to protect future crops.

 

As many of you know, my uncle was horribly injured in a bicycle accident this winter. Spending more time with my family and helping to deal with this crisis meant that I chose to stay in the South longer this year. Subsequently pulling together sugaring equipment and time is just out of the question.Nonetheless, I am hearing that the past few days have been setting records for sap flow here in the Upper Valley! 

If you have never been to a sugarhouse, you should really get out and experience it. The whole proccess is fascinating and the fact that the delicious syrup we enjoy starts its life as very watery sap is incredible. Find a small sugaring operation near you and go spend an hour. Our good friends Wayne and Cathy Fifield (802-333-4467) in Thetford Center keep our farm stand in good supply all season long. Their sugarhouse is open to visitors, just give a call.

I was sitting at the computer today reviewing seeding schedules when I looked out the window at the sunshine and was suddenly aware of how thirsty I was and how much I needed to stretch my legs. I left the spreadsheets behind and ambled out into the bright warmth of the day.

My feet sank slightly into the soft earth of “mud season” as I walked over to the sugar maple in front of the house. Listening thoughtfully I could hear the birds singing, greenhouse fans blowing, and the slight drip of liquid falling into liquid. I tapped the galvonized bucket that was attached a few feet up the tree: it felt heavy. I slid back the lid and, sure enough, it was already half full of crystal clear sap. Carefully, I lifted the bucket off of the spout imbedded in the tree’s trunk, brought the lip of the bucket to my own lips and slowly tilted it back. The cold sap filled my mouth and I savored its slight maple sweetness before swallowing. I took another sip and realized that my eyes were now closed as the sap flowed into my mouth, as though I were kissing a beautiful woman. The sun was beaming on my face and the air was full of the smell of warm damp earth. I thought I heard a killdeer in the field.

Maple sap flows when the days are warm and the nights cold in the spring. I have seen it flow in a drip so constant that it almost appeared to stream out of the tree. It is as clear and rarefied as water, cold as the ground, and just barely sweet and maple flavored. Jake told me a few years back that he and his friends used to put some of the sap from their sugaring operation into Ball jars and freeze it for summer consumption. I haven’t had any luck with that (it tends to sour), but I do love to drink the sap as a seasonal libation. There is just nothing like walking up to a tree and drinking it.

Maple is “slow food” in so many ways. Anyone who has ever boiled or attended a small scale boil (sugaring-off) knows that, aside from the company and the beauty of the process, it is like watching water boil - for hours. Forty gallons of sap takes me 9 hours on my small (3×3 foot) evaporator outside over a wood fire to produce a single gallon of syrup. A few years back I actually froze several gallons of sap and used it to brine my Thanksgiving turkey: an interesting idea, but not worth the large scale effort (since then I just make the brine from well water and add some of my own syrup).

As I have said, I can’t sugar this year. I miss it. But I am certainly enjoying my favorite spring drink.