By Keith Kimes, Kimes Apiary
Keith Kimes is a local beekeeper who keeps many of his hives on High Ground Organics’ two farm properties. We know that many of you are interested in the plight of honeybees worldwide, so we asked Keith for an update on his own efforts at limiting losses in his beehives.
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Roasting the tomatoes with a little sugar before making the glaze intensifies the tomato flavor, and brings out their fruitiness. The glaze is closer to a jam than ketchup, and can be used on cauliflower, squash, fish, chicken, or pork and beef. Add a dollop to braises or a stew of squash, onions, and eggplant.
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We’re busy this week putting the final touches on our new railcar farmstand before our opening this Wednesday in the new location in the Annieglass parking lot on the corner of Riverside Drive/Highway 129 and Harvest Drive in Watsonville.
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Here, Patatas Bravas are the inspiration. You could use this dish like a tapa and serve smaller amounts of it, or use it as a side dish. Serve hot, warm, or room temperature.
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A favorite breakfast of mine is sautéed greens served on thick toast with poached or fried eggs on top. The yolk coating the greens and the crisp chewy toast makes for a great combination. There is a myriad variations on this theme, but the eggs and greens are the baseline. This is often made with leftover greens or potatoes. If you are not a fan of poached eggs, you could skip the potatoes, or simply cut the potatoes into small enough cubes that they will cook through while you fry them. Although it looks like a long recipe, it goes quickly.
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Our restoration volunteer day last Saturday was very productive and fun. Thanks to those of you who came out to help! We got a lot of mulch spread in a short amount of time. Laura Kummerer turned her spotting scope on the osprey nest, so we got a great view of the 2 chicks and their parents, and took a walk through the grassland to identify the different native and invasive species.
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This is a dish you want a Ben-Riner or mandolin. If you have a sharp grater that produces almost matchstick thick results, that could work also. This dish uses mirin and shiro-shoyu, a.k.a. white soy sauce. This is a very light colored soy with a lighter body and flavor than regular soy sauce. It adds a light umami quality dishes as well as a little salinity, so you can ease up on salting a dish, and helps bring out the nuances of vegetable flavors. It is great when you want the effect of soy sauce without wanting to taste it or have it stand out in a dish. This dish is beautiful when made with multi-colored carrots, but mature chantenay carrots work really well also.
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This recipe is a sort of faux turnip kimchee, and uses gochujang to bring deep flavor and heat to a simple quickle, which is great all on its own. Using the gochujang really transforms the dish in an almost Cinderella fashion. What is gochujang? You could almost call it the ketchup of Korea- a funky, sweet, salty, nutty paste of fermented soybeans (kind of like miso, but not…) and peppers. The heat can vary, but it will be there. Anything from mild to fairly spicy, it is pasty and thick, and is usually cut with something to thin it a little, and ginger and garlic are often added to up the umami already there. Try adding spoonsful to soups, stews, marinades, and rubs and see how great it is. Here, it simulates the flavor fermentation would bring to these quick pickles, and brings the heat.
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Grappa is a poor man’s liquor made from leftover seeds and skins from winemaking that became chic a few years ago. No matter what you label it, it is still a powerful and raw spirit. Soaking currants or raisins in it is a traditional Italian use for it that can be found in many dishes. Here it is again. If you do not have grappa, use a good vodka.
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For lack of a better word, this is called a “condiment”. It can be used as is to base or top grilled fish or chicken, or used with lettuce to make a salad with a bit more dressing. Add bits of buffalo mozzarella for a salad, or add capers for even more interest. Use Tetilla cheese or buffalo mozzarella and Marcona almonds as a topping for chicken, or mix with shreds of cabbage for a salad, or skip the cheese and use just the nuts.
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It’s hard to believe it’s the middle of July already! We have a couple opportunities for you to come out to the farm this summer. First, we’ll hold Strawberry U-Picks the next three Saturdays – July 18th, July 25th, and August 1st. Picking time is between 10 AM and 2 PM, so please try to arrive on time to finish up your picking by 2. Now’s the time to make that jam or stock up the freezer with berries for smoothies! Berries cost $2 per pound. Bring your own containers if you can.
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I know it sounds strange, or over the top, but this actually works. Really well. It hits on many so levels, and the acid of the vegetables balance out the richness of the egg and meat. I first encountered this in Australia, then again recently in Seattle. This version is improved a little over the original-everything is cut so that less stuff falls into your lap. In Australia, anything with a fried egg thrown in is having with “the lot”.
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From Chef Susan Pasko
This recipe is just one version of my master method for One-Pot Easy-Peasy Market Box Veggies. The principles are always the same…. Start with onions and garlic cooked slowly in butter or oil. Always give the onions a fifteen minute head start, (during which you can prep the other veg, or sit down with a cup of tea or glass of wine!) Then add the hard vegetables, cook 15 minutes more, then the quick-cooking vegetables for 10 minutes, then the leaves which will wilt pretty quickly in most cases. Adjust cooking times by tasting the veggies along the way…. These kind of recipes are guidelines, not rules.
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The initial spring frenzy has passed and things have calmed down a little around here. The winter squash and pumpkins are up and growing quickly and the heat loving crops like tomatoes, peppers, beans and basil have really taken off. After a very cool spring, it’s finally starting to feel like summer.
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This is one of those salads similar to the Moroccan type, where there is no lettuce, the dish can be served to start a meal or as a side, or can make part of a light supper with a little soup and a more traditional salad of lettuces. Next time you are out for Chinese or Japanese food and they have the better quality bamboo chopsticks that are almost pencil thick, ask for a set to use for dishes like this, where you need to slice down without cutting all the way through something.
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Fattoush, often considered Lebanese in origin, is one of those ubiquitous salads found pretty much anywhere flatbread is eaten and tomatoes grow. Like the Italian salad called Panzanella it was probably a way to not waste bread after it had gone stale. Of many iterations, the two constants it seem to be flat bread and tomatoes. The greens vary from romaine to butter lettuce to arugula to none at all. Cucumber? Peppers? Radishes? Some use pomegranate seeds, some have pomegranate syrup in the dressing, while some have none. Like so many dressings of the Middle-East, this one is “slack”, meaning it is not a fully emulsified vinaigrette, so be sure to mix it up one more time just before pouring it on.
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Fattoush dressings, like many other Mid-East dressings are loose with a higher acid to oil ratio than French influenced vinaigrettes. There are many, many variations, just as the salad itself varies from place to place. The main difference between v.1 and v.2 is the addition of pomegranate molasses. This brings a deep flavor that has a haunting/addictive tart and almost smoky note to it. Some brands have a little caramel added, and this will lend a little sweetness and a little more of the smoky note. Look for Mid-East and Cortas brands. The latter is tarter.
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Fattoush dressings, like many other Mid-East dressings are loose with a higher acid to oil ratio than French influenced vinaigrettes. There are many, many variations, just as the salad itself varies from place to place. Use this dressing on tabbouleh, Israeli Salad, fish, chicken kebabs, or shrimp.
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High Ground Organics’ home farm is protected by two easements, an agricultural easement and a conservation easement. This summer we are lucky to have Brown University student Clare Peabody working as an intern to help our restoration efforts on the half of the property under the conservation easement.
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