News for a New Year

We are really looking forward to "growing" our operation in 2013.  Farmer Brent now has three years of growing experience under his belt and each season has brought more consistency and variety to the farm's offerings.  We started this whole operation with the goal of feeding ourselves and our neighbors and nothing has made us happier than helping supply the folks of Athens and Oconee with sustainably produced fruits and vegetables.  Our goals for this year center around making that produce easier and more convenient to get a hold of.  We would like to expand the days that the farmstand is open and also to provide delivery service to nearby households. We want to expand the number of participants in our CSA so that more people can experience eating seasonally.

These are big undertakings for a farm with only 1.5 full-time employees, but we are excited and ready for the challenge.  In order to get prepared for our 2013 goals, we will be taking a few weeks off from around mid-February to early March, which just so happens to coincide with the birth of our second child.  Our big CSA season, as well as the Athens Farmers Market season, will begin in earnest in April and we plan to hit the ground running.  Make sure to keep up with the weekly newsletter for information about joining the CSA, expanded farmstand hours and delivery service so we can include you wherever you'd like to fit in.  Thanks for your support over the last three growing seasons.  Looking forward to many, many more!

Red Curry with Vegetables

I am not proud of this picture, but it was all I could muster up after I completely forgot to snap some pictures while we were cooking and eating.  Do I get any slack for being pregnant?  That alone robs me of quite a few brain cells before we even get to the part about having an almost 2-year old entertaining me with periodic head injuries and a dazed husband with a nasty head cold.

Red Curry with Vegetables
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Medium onion, chopped
Medium turnip, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons red curry paste (like this)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric (read about the amazing health benefits of turmeric here)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
2 cups cooked lentils
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 bunch of kale, sliced in thin strips (or chiffonade as the pros call it)
1/4 head of cabbage, sliced in thin strips
2 cups cooked quinoa (You can cook in the microwave!  Wooooo!)
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin

Cook your lentils first; they take about 15 minutes.  About one cup dried lentils will equal out to two cups cooked.  Heat coconut oil over medium heat in large pot or dutch oven.  Add turnips and saute a couple minutes, add onion and saute until translucent.  Add in red curry paste, garlic, ginger and all spices and stir constantly (so it doesn't shellac itself to the pan).  Add in cooked lentils, tomatoes and coconut milk.  Cook for about 10-15 minutes.  This is probably a good time to cook your quinoa.  We did ours in the microwave which worked out beautifully.  Add kale and cabbage to pot and let cook down until both are soft, about another 3-4 minutes.   Just before serving, mix lime juice and cumin in with cooked quinoa.  Serve curry over the quinoa.

We added some Srirachi after we plated it up, which you could do while cooking.  Recommend keeping the heat neutral if you are sharing this meal with a toddler like we were!

This recipe was lovingly adapted from one by the blog Running to the Kitchen.

Easy Fried Green Tomatoes

I have never made fried green tomatoes before this week, so when I say this recipe is easy, I mean it.  I made it up and it worked the first time.  That's about as lucky as it gets!

Vegetable oil (amount depends on your pan)
1 egg
3 medium green tomatoes
2 parts cornmeal
1 part whole wheat flour
Pinch each of cayenne pepper, salt and pepper

Fill a frying pan (cast iron preferred) with enough vegetable oil to a depth of about 1/4".  Heat over medium heat.  Remove stems and slice tomatoes about 1/4" thick.

Whisk up an egg and place is small shallow bowl.  Mix cornmeal, flour, salt and spices in separate shallow bowl.  Your oil should be heated by now.  Dip each tomato slice in egg (both sides) and then dredge in cornmeal mixture (again, both sides.) Place in oil.  (We have an electric range which tends to make our food go quickly from gently frying to scorched, so you'll want to keep an eye on it.)  Fit as many slices in your pan as you can without overlap.  Flip when the underside is golden with spots of brown.  I keep a fork handy and just lift them from time to time to see how they're progressing.

Remove from pan when both sides have browned and place on paper towels to soak up excess oil.  If frying multiple batches, place plate in a warm oven.  Serve warm with a side of homemade ranch dressing or hot sauce.