Farm Update

June 23, 2007
Number 37

Hello Everyone!

Well, it is that time of year. Our farm stand will close for the season on Monday (6/25). This past week was the official start to summer - hmmm? I guess it will start getting hot now.

The plants must have known it was the summer solstice because as a group they decided stop producing as much.

We will harvest tomatoes, pepper, eggplants and anything else that is doing it's best in the heat but come Monday at noon the farm stand will close.

Please come by and get any last minute produce or herbs.

We will open again in mid to late September and will send you an e-mail notification. We will be sending updates over the next couple months but not on a weekly basis.

Sometime over the next week you will receive an e-mail from FeedBlitz that will state the following:

Confirm Your Registration to Crooked Carrot Farm

If you would like to continue to be on our e-mail update list please follow the directions to activate your subscription to our Crooked Carrot Farm Update. We have decided to change to this subscription service and have been using it for a month to make sure we were satisfied with their service before switching over. We, like many of you, do not enjoy receiving unsolicited e-mails and that is why we used this service first before we switched over. Please know that we will not share your e-mail address with any other groups - it is only for our Farm Updates. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Thank you for supporting our farm over this past season. We hope to see all of you and many more back for the Fall 2007 season. We are already planning and will begin planting as early as July.

Have a great and safe summer.

The Furlongs

Farm Update

June 15, 2007
Number 36

Hello Everyone!

Have you ever made a melon cooler? It is a delicious summer taste – we have some ideas in our recipe section today. We also have plenty of tomatoes, jalapenos and green onions in the farmstand to make some great home made salsa. Imagine, sipping a melon cooler and enjoying some chips and fresh salsa……

Over the next few weeks we are going to be changing our e-mail newsletter to a blog style newsletter. We will be updating you as we move through this process because it is going to require everyone who wants to continue to receive our update to “verify” their subscription. You will receive an e-mail with specific instructions of how to “verify”. Our blog style subscription newsletter will be through a company called Feed Blitz.

This Week In The Farmstand

• Tomatoes
• Green Beans
• Jalapenos
• Melons (Charentais, Cantaloupe, Passport, Honeydew, Spanish)
• Mixed Squash
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Green Onions
• Carrots
• Bell peppers
• Fresh Cut Herbs
• Hand Made Vegetable Herb Soap
  Lavender Mint

We also have potted herbs for sale in our hoop house. Not every herb comes in every size but there are 2" pots, 4" pots and six paks available.

• lemon balm
• parsley
• mini basil
• thyme
• epazote
• lavender
• oregano
• chives
• sage
• Mexican mint marigold
• Alpine strawberries (6 pk only)
  

Fresh From The Garden Recipe

Melon Coolers
We have several ideas and suggestions – start with one and move through the list. You won’t be disappointed!

If you don’t have time now to make these recipes but think they would be great later in the summer when things slow down you can always freeze the melon cubes now and you will be one step ahead when it comes time to relax and sip.

For most drinks you just slice or scoop the melon into cubes/balls then freeze them in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Once they are frozen, slide them into a plastic freezer bag and store them in the freezer until ready to us. While some drinks need frozen melon cubes, even the ones that don’t will turn out just fine using the frozen melon.

Classic Melon Cooler

2 2/3 cups cantaloupe OR Honeydew OR Watermelon, seeded and chopped
3 T sugar
2 T lime juice
2 cups water
ice

• Puree cantaloupe in a blender until smooth.
• Season to taste with sugar and lime juice.
• Combine fruit mixture and water in a large pitcher (straining out pulp, if desired).
• Cover and refrigerate up to a week. To serve, stir well and pour into tall glasses over ice.
  
  Makes 1 quart

Honeydew Cooler

8 cups honeydew cubes
1 ½ cups ginger ale
1/3 cup water
1 can (6-oz.) frozen lemonade concentrate

• Place honeydew cubes in a single layer in an extra-large zip-top plastic freezer bag, and freeze 8 hours. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes.
• Place half the total amount each of honeydew, ginger ale, water, and lemonade concentrate in a blender and blend until smooth; pour mixture into a pitcher.
• Repeat procedure with remaining half of ingredients; stir into pitcher.
• Serve immediately.
  
  Makes about 8 (1 cup) servings
  

Cantaloupe Cooler

8 cups cantaloupe cubes
1 ½ cups ginger ale
1/3 cup water
1 can (6 oz) frozen limeade concentrate
2 tsp ground ginger

• Place cantaloupe cubes in a single layer in an extra-large zip-top plastic freezer bag, and freeze 8 hours. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes.
• Place half the total amount each of cantaloupe, ginger ale, water, limeade concentrate and ginger in blender and blend until smooth; pour mixture into a pitcher.
• Repeat procedure with remaining half of ingredients; stir into pitcher.
• Serve immediately.
  
  Makes about 8 (1 cup) servings

Farmstand Details

We harvest most morning to help keep our farmstand supplied with all the freshest veggies we have available. We do our best our best to keep all the produce available but sometimes we don run out.

Most produce is weighed and bagged or bunched and in the refrigerator at the farmstand. Prices will be posted (or in the case of melons, written right on the melon). Everything is priced in 25 cent increments.

Our farmstand is self-serve and on the honor system. There is a wooden lock box where you can deposit you money. No change will be given but checks are accepted. You can make your check payable to Crooked Carrot Farm.

The stand is open from dawn until dusk every day.

Thank you for supporting our farm.

The Furlongs

Crooked Carrot Update - June 8, 2007

June 8, 2007
Number 35

Hello Everyone!

It's melon season and nothing tastes better on a hot summer day than a cool melon. We've got some great varieties to choose from....be adventurous and try something new.

This Week In The Farmstand

• Green Beans
• Tomatoes
• Melons (see descriptions below)
• Mixed Squash
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Green Onions
• Carrots
• Bell peppers
• Hand Made Vegetable Herb Soap
  Lavender Mint

French Charentais Melon - Edonis
This well known French melon variety is considered by many to be the most divine and flavorful melons in the world. It is famous for its dark orange, sweet and fragrant flesh.

Earliqueen Cantaloupe
This is the superstar of muskmelons (cantaloupes)!
Medium-sized melon with thick, sweet, orange flesh.

Honey Orange Melon
This is a unique, orange flesh honeydew. Honey-sweet and tender with pale salmon-orange flesh that is thick and delicious to the rind. Melons are oval-round with smooth, ivory skin.



Passport Melon
These melons look like a cantaloupe outside and honeydew inside. Sometimes called a Middle Eastern Melon, an Israeli Melon, a Galia Melon, or a Mediterranean Melon, they are sweet and juicy with a more delicate flavor than cantaloupe and a sweet aroma.

Golden Beauty Melon
This Spanish (canary/casaba) melon has a sweet, juicy, pale green flesh that is very aromatic and spicy. The melons are large, distinctive and oblong with a somewhat wrinkled, bright yellow rind. If you are buying ahead of time, these melons have a good shelf life.



We also have potted herbs for sale in our hoop house. Not every herb comes in every size but there are 2" pots, 4" pots and six paks available.

• lemon balm
• parsley
• mini basil
• thyme
• epazote
• lavender
• oregano
• chives
• sage
• Mexican mint marigold
• Alpine strawberries (6 pk only)
  
  Alpine strawberries produce small but extremely tasty berries. These plants are easy to control and are everbearing. They produce no runners, which makes them neat and tidy for indoor growing. Plants bloom with white flowers, then produce fruit within a couple of months and will continue this cycle for about three years. Though berries are small, they are packed with flavor and freeze well.
  

Fresh From The Garden Recipe

Green Beans Sautéed with Tomatoes and Garlic

1 pound green beans (ends trimmed)
2 Tbls olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, diced
3 tomatoes, diced
1 Tbls fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Lightly steam green beans until tender. Rinse under cold water to set the color and stop the cooking process.

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.

Add onion, cover and cook until soft (about 5 minutes). Stir in garlic.

Add the green beans, tomatoes, parsley and salt/pepper.

Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are hot and flavors are combined (about 8 - 10 minutes).

Serve hot.

Serves 4.

Farmstand Details

We harvest most morning to help keep our farmstand supplied with all the freshest veggies we have available. We do our best our best to keep all the produce available but sometimes we don run out.

Most produce is weighed and bagged or bunched and in the refrigerator at the farmstand. Prices will be posted (or in the case of melons, written right on the melon). Everything is priced in 25 cent increments.

Our farmstand is self-serve and on the honor system. There is a wooden lock box where you can deposit you money. No change will be given but checks are accepted. You can make your check payable to Crooked Carrot Farm.

The stand is open from dawn until dusk every day.

Thank you for supporting our farm.


The Furlongs