What a Joyful Journey

Last week marked our final appearance at the 6th Avenue Farmers Market for the season. As we close the chapter on a wonderful experience I am shifting my focus, with the seasons, to a greater dream. But, as I reflect on the events of the last several months, I can say with absolute certainty that I am a different person for embarking on a partnership with nature.

We started out with an idea, a shapeless plot of land, and a group of people who wanted to work with nature to grow lovely, fresh, healthy, and flavorful produce to bring to our neighbors. As seasons blossomed from spring into summer, so too did our creativity. With seeds churning silently in their beds under the cool ground, our thoughts began to sprout.

The first sprout of creativity was Aunt Farmer's. She knew the joy and excitement of gifting beautiful, edible flowers for salads, as well as growing unique vittles like Jerusalem Artichokes. Boo Boo farmer, and her multiple tubers of genius, offered tireless research on seed providers, impeccable and rare produce, and salad ensembles for all seasons. Like the herbs (pronounced, here, clearly with the "H") that she loves so much, Black Mama farmer brought the steadfast commitment, flavor and spice to the farm and market. Without fail, Merm Farmer kept a watchful eye on our new seedlings, tirelessly leading the charge against weeds, while Poppy Farmer carefully crafted, by hand, everything we needed to bring our produce to the market. And of course our beloved friend Tina (a most unusual name in comparison) created a visual embodiment of our group, through her gift of transforming words and ideas into pictures - amazing! And, the remaining members of our Vittles crew brought the motivation, joy, love, and a desire to work with nature.

Every Tuesday at market was like a time portal back to wholesome food, people, and community. The energy of the market staff, vendors and patrons was palpable and it spilled out onto Pine St. each market day. Perhaps the most subtle reward was the beautiful weather that we had for 18 Tuesdays - a gift for working in harmony with nature.

Lastly, I want to thank all of our friends-new and old- who stopped by our booth to say hello, try our "devine" vittles, and share their enthusiasm for our produce with us and others. Those interactions brought depth to our purpose. On behalf of all of the Vittles crew, revel in the commencement of autumn and its transition into winter. We look forward to seeing you next season. We will continue to share our endeavors through this blog and hope you do the same.

Jerusalem Artichokes are not from Jerusalem

They are in fact native to the United States. Jerusalem Artichokes, also called Sunchokes, are not artichokes either. They are related to sunflowers and the sunflower-like flowers, without the seeds, are on top of very tall stalks. They add a striking feast for the eyes in my vegetable garden. The edible parts are the tubers growing underground. The tubers look like a potato crossed with ginger root. They taste like nutty potatoes and are rich in potassium, iron, niacin, copper and more. My favorite way to eat them is simply steamed with butter or grated raw into a salad or chicken salad. This year I'm going to try making a soup of them since I found this: “The Jerusalem artichoke was titled ‘best soup vegetable’ in the 2002 Nice festival for the heritage of the French cuisine.” Apparently Jerusalem artichokes made their way from the states to France in the 1600’s from Cape Cod. An easy way to make a soup of them would be to boil them until they are very soft then mash them as finely as you can. Add cream, some of the water used to boil them, salt, pepper and any other seasons you like while heating gently. Their flavor would work well with any herb or you could go for a sweeter flavor with honey, ginger, nutmeg, and/or allspice. I'm going to start with the sweet version. If you’ve never had Jerusalem Artichokes, do try them!
With only 2 markets to go this year, I am going to do my best to get these fall vegetables to our faithful adventuring customers.
Aunt Farmer

Chop Suey Greens

You ate the flowers all summer and now we’re offering the leaves and stems. Garland chrysanthemums are those delightfully cheery little flowers we’ve been adding to the salads. Our fall crop is coming in now and instead of letting them flower, we are harvesting them as greens. Asians use these greens in salads and soups and stir-fries. They are known as chop suey greens, tong ho, shungiku, depending on the country. Use the stems as well as the leaves and be sure to add at the last minute when cooking them or they will become bitter. Since I like food to taste elegant but be easy to cook, I just throw them in with a little butter, garlic, onion, thyme, rosemary and any other herb I fancy, sauté briefly and have a nice side dish.
So why would I bother with chop suey greens when there are so many other greens available, especially from Vittles de Vine? Besides their slightly tangy taste, they have their own power packed nutrients. They contain vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K as well as minerals (notably calcium) and amino acids. Garland chrysanthemum are so full of nutrients they are used
as a tonic in China.
We've entered the last month of market but we hope we've still got a few oddities for you.
Aunt Farmer

Opus of the week

This week we prepared a Stir-Fry Vegetable Medley for Two. It includes 1 small broccoli, 2 scallions, sugar peas, baby dragon carrots, a small squash, chard, mustard leaves and cilantro. Now how easy is that! Of course, we will have other herbs for you to add as well, depending on your taste preferences. Also new for this week will be herbs already tied and ready for hanging for your winter teas.
The weather here now, in August no less, is already inviting a nice warm cup of healing tea. It is a little different having the warm cup of tea while sitting and gazing out on a landscape of flowers and vegetables, with a cloudy sky promising to do the work of watering for me.
My main activity of this week, besides saving “Aunt Farmer’s” heirloom seeds, has been making herbal vinegars. I have one that specifically commemorates many of the herbs and flowers we took to market. The white vinegar had turned the loveliest shade of pink within one hour of pouring it in over nasturtium flowers and leaves, thyme flowers, anise hyssop flowers, rosemary, hyssop flowers and more.
For those who have never made vinegars, it is the easiest thing in the world to do. Take the herb(s) and flowers, put them in a glass jar, pour the vinegar of your choice over them, and put a lid on it. Wait 3 weeks and you have just made your own easy and elegant vinegar. If you want to you can strain out the flowers and herbs at the end of that time and put in some fresh sprigs for display. I have a vacuum sealer that works on canning jars so can make lots to store too. These make great stocking stuffers, although not a surprise to my family now that I’ve blogged it. Oh well, maybe I’ll keep mine and encourage them to make their own instead.
Happy Market Day to You All,
Aunt Farmer

Eating What Is In Season

It is such fun to eat what is in season, grazing through the garden. But from what I know of nature, I am also sure there is a plan and the balance of tastes is just the beginning. For instance, in studying Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western use of herbs, dandelions just happen to be growing at exactly the right time medicinally to keep your body at peak health. This leads me to the global thought that all our vegetables and fruits are most harmonious to our systems during the season they are growing. Certainly it is true that things we think of as tasting good together happen to be growing together. Basil with tomatoes is an ideal example, and they even are good companion plants. Squash sautéed with onions,thyme and rosemary is a delight to me in these days.
While looking for less obvious recipes on the web I found some wonderful ones that I wanted to share here. These 2 are from Golden Harvest Organics (Thanks Judi for letting me post them!) and can be found on their recipes pages by clicking here

Rose Petal Soup
A surprisingly refreshing and delicious cold soup.
Ingredients:
1 red or pink fragrant rose flower
1 pint cold water
8 ounces dry white wine
Pinch of powdered cinnamon
1 16 oz. can pitted sweet cherries, drained
2 ounces of Kirsch
1/2 pint of sour cream
4 ounces of fine sugar
Pluck the rose petals from the head. Cut away the white basal (heels) portions and discard. Put aside some petals for a garnish. Put sugar, water and cinnamon in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil. Add the cherries and reduce heat to simmer for 10 minutes. Add the wine and rose petals. Remove from the heat and allow to sit until cool. Put this mixture in the blender or food processor; liquefy it. Stir in 8 ounces of the sour cream and all the Kirsch. Refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Serve in a large glass bowl swirling the rest of sour cream on top. Scatter with rose petals and a sprinkling of cinnamon.
Yield: 6-8 servings

Cold Cucumber & Mint Soup
Ingredients:
3 small cucumbers, peeled
1/3 cup chopped chives
1/3 cup mint leaves
2 large cloves, peeled and mashed
1 cup chicken broth
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
freshly ground pepper
1 Anaheim chile pepper
16 ounces of plain yogurt
Put all the ingredients into a food processor or blender. Process until smooth.
Whisk in the yogurt. Chill thoroughly and serve with choice of toppings like:
Chopped tomatoes, chive blossoms, minced arugula and croutons.
Yield: 4 servings

Find what's growing this season at the Tacoma Market on 6th!
Aunt Farmer

Fresh Herbs, Seasoning or Remedy?

This week we're featuring Rosemary and Sage. While we've had these at market often, including the flowers, we want to give them their due in center stage.
Rosemary has been used for everything from aiding circulation to regulating blood pressure, as an antidepressant and for migraines. It is a powerful antioxidant, is antiseptic and aids digestion. Rosemary tastes wonderful cooked with meats, eggs, fish, in soups, and in salads or salad dressings.
Sage has been linked with immortality in ancient lore. It is antispasmodic and relieves gas as well as bloating and cramps. Sage has been used to treat bacterial, viral and fungal infections, including oral infections. It also is said to help fight colds and coughs.
Both these herbs can be enjoyed as tea or as seasonings in cooking. You can't go wrong including these in your latest gourmet creation!
Aunt Farmer

Good Golly Aunt Molly

Most serious gardeners try something new and unusual, at least for them, each year. This year my experiment of choice was another heirloom, Aunt Molly’s Ground Cherries. The result is thrilling and I’m going into full production next year. The harvest is coming in, with a greater amount being gathered each day.

The most fun of all is watching as people try them for the first time. First they get to unwrap the little paper lantern surrounding the fruit. Then if you watch the eyes carefully you can see, almost every time, the person search for something to associate the taste with in the brain. Some come up with “melon”, others with “citrus” or “pineapple”. My favorite is when people realize they don’t have anywhere at all to put it. It is in a “new flavor” category. And that is how it was for me. If it is logged under any category in my brain it is under “tastes good”.

Like rose hips, ground cherries are high in pectin so if I can get enough of them this year I’m going to experiment with making them into jam. I did that accidentally with my Rosa Rugosa rose hips one year. I was making an extremely simple syrup so I’d have it to use with pancakes or to add a bit to hot water for the vitamin C, if needed. Something came up and I put the whole pot in the refrigerator before I was finished. The next day when I got back to it, I had what has since become one of my favorite jams already made. The only problem I foresee with making ground cherry jam is having enough left over after eating them raw on the way in from harvest.

I am going to make myself make sure some arrive at market tomorrow without them being eaten on the drive to market. For those of you that like a little sweetness, a little fruit, added to your salad, be sure to tell us and we’ll offer up that lagniappe with your salad bag (while they last). If you turn out to be a fan like I am, come back and let us know so we can enthuse together. We’ll also sell them a little later in the season when I've had my fill.
Aunt Farmer