Currently viewing the tag: "strawberries"
This morning there are Stanford researchers wandering around the farm with bug nets. They have been out several times this summer collecting data for a pollinator and pest study, to find out more about species interactions in agricultural landscapes. I’m looking forward to seeing the results.
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Those of you who have been faithful newsletter readers for a while know that we have been involved with the effort to transition the organic strawberry industry into using organically grown starter plants for some time now. 
It’s the time of year when strawberry growers throughout the valley start preparing their fields for next year’s strawberry crop and we are no exception. Conventional growers start to plant in early October—those who grow organically usually keep their plants in the cooler to give them more vigor and therefore don’t normally start planting until the later part of November. That may seem like a long way off, but a lot goes into getting the field ready.
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When we first started farming we rented an old craftsman house in downtown Watsonville and I made the daily five mile commute to the field we were leasing on the outskirts of La Selva Beach. My route passed right by a large conventional field being managed by a company that was bought out by Dole Foods.
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I like to make berry infused vinegars which I use as parts of marinades or sauces, and of course I also use them for salad dressings. When using them for dressing, I tend to either use them to contrast with sharper, bitter leaves such as escarole, dandelion, rocket, and the like, or I pair them with more delicate lettuces and then add some fruit and or nuts to the mix. I could see a salad of butterleaf lettuces with strawberries, slivered roasted almonds, and maybe a little bit of crumbled blue cheese with a strawberry vinaigrette made with the vinegar, a little agave syrup, some shallot, a little ginger juice, black pepper, and a light oil such as grapeseed with a touch of almond oil. Garnish the salad with candied ginger bits and a little black pepper that has been dry roasted in a pan-this neutralizes much of the heat and leaves the pepper fruity-and freshly cracked.
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I hesitate to call this a jam as it is useful for more than toast. Try this with pork, chicken, or turkey. Good on sandwiches or as a smear, and would be nice on a cheese plate. This would be good made with berries that are a little over-ripe or starting to look less than perfect.
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This dressing goes with a salad of strawberries, lettuce, and pepitas, as well as with a dice of corn, red onion, bell peppers, and cilantro. Sauté it or use raw and dress with this vinaigrette. Use this vinaigrette to dress fish tacos or pulled pork sandwiches. Although the roasted garlic is an extra step, the flavor really is subtler than raw garlic, and the roasted garlic adds a creamy texture to the dressing.
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If you get both blue and straw-berries, this is wonderful to make with them. The granola is easy to make, but you have to be patient when making it. The parfaits can be made ahead and brought out at the last minute.
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“Agrodolce” means “sweet and sour” in Italian, and is usually a reduction of sugar and vinegar applied to something else. Here I use the term loosely in that there is sugar and a balsamic vinegar applied to the fruit. This is an especially nice way to treat early season berries that smell gorgeous but might not have had the time to develop full flavor yet. Use these with plain or vanilla yogurt, make a parfait with layered berries, granola, and yogurt, or use these for topping to pancakes and waffles. Eat as is with cheese such as Gorgonzola or young Pecorino Romano.
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Although the combination of may seem odd to some, the tomato forms the bridge here between the oxalic roughness of the spinach and the sweetness of the strawberry with its acid and sweetness. The crunch of the spinach and the plush softness of the berries and tomatoes is pleasing to the palate. The lettuce is used here to add loft to the salad and lighten it a little. Be sure to use enough oil to soften the bite of the acid in the dressing or it will team with the spinach to taste aggressive. If you have almond or hazelnut oil, use some in the dressing and add some roasted nuts to match the oil for added depth.
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The strawberries are coming in very strong now, so we’ll continue Strawberry U-picks through the month of August. The berry patch is right next to the Farmstand this year, so we can spread out the U-picking time window to accommodate more of your schedules. Come anytime between 10:30 AM and 4:00 PM on Saturdays or Sundays. Just check in with Mike at the farmstand first to weigh your containers or get an empty one from us.
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This salad could be a starter salad, or would be good as part of a lunch on a warm day with grilled chicken. At dinner, this would be a great way to bridge a salad and dessert course, or could come before the cheese in lieu of dessert. This is a very simple recipe, but that is so the flavors of each ingredient shines through. It may seem odd to use lettuce, but the faintly bitter and mineral-y flavor and the gentle crunch of the butter lettuce is a great foil to the sweetness and texture of the berries. If you wanted to add something to the salad, some chopped roasted almonds, pistachios, or hazelnuts would work with the sweet nutty flavor adding a bottom note to the ensemble.
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Although you can buy things called balsamic reductions, or balsamic condiment or glaze, all over the place now, a good many of them are made with inferior, or downright lousy, balsamic vinegar, or not even true balsamic vinegar. A lot of them have caramel, sugar, or other things added to them. Some of these things are for flavoring, others are to thicken.
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We’re opening up our strawberry patch for u-pick for the next three weekends. The berry patch is behind our farmstand this year, so we can give you a wide range of hours and days to come do your picking. Here’s how it works:
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Makes about 4 to 5 (8 oz) half pints
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The unusually late rain storm passing through yesterday and today has brought little more than sprinkles and mist down here in Watsonville. Strawberry growers always get nervous when rain threatens during harvest season. Ripe fruit breaks down quickly when it gets wet, and Botrytis or “grey mold” can set in. Yesterday’s “storm”, however, didn’t bring enough moisture to cause problems, and in fact, may have helped more than it hurt.
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This is a twist on Insalata Caprese, the ubiquitous tomato, mozzarella, and basil “salad” that often features as a starter when tomatoes are in season. This version, however, is more of dessert meets the cheese course. The basil syrup called for in the recipe was developed originally for making grown-up sodas.
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The varieties grow on the High Ground farm are Seascape and Albion. Both varieties are excellent for our cool off shore climate and both are excellent to the taste buds.