Season 1: Market Day 7

This Saturday, October 3, will be our last Saturday at the Ferndale Public Market. I HATE to say that but alas, it is the truth. Our garden just won't give us more with these cool nights.

We have had a great time though at the Market and while we aren't ready to be full time farmers, we certainly are excited for the next season! We have learned a lot and are already planning.

So, make sure you come visit us on Saturday, we will still have some great stuff:

- Melons

- Lettuce
- Tomatoes (great heirlooms!)
- Cherry Tomatoes (Sungolds and Green Doctors)
- Green Kale
- Tomatillos
- Cucumbers
- Winter squash (spaghetti, buttercup, Pennsylvania dutch crookneck)

- Green and Purple Peppers
- Flower Bouquets (mostly dahlias)

After you are done visitng us and eating the delicious produce from Red Planet Farm, make sure you come visit our blog over the winter for updates.

Thanks for buying local!
-Emily

Squash Soup - Better Than it Sounds!

Winter Squash Soup 

makes 5 servings

Created by Emily Marrs

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup (1/2sitck) butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 large garlic cloves, chopped
5.5 cups (or 3 14.5oz cans) veggie broth
3lbs (or about 8 cups) peeled winter squash (any type winter squash: butternut, delicata, pumpkin, etc) cut into 1-inch pieces

1 ¼ t minced fresh thyme
1 ¼ t minced fresh sage
1 ½ t ground cumin
½ t ground ginger
1t Salt
Pepper
¼  cup whipping cream
Sugar to taste (I used about one teaspoon)

METHOD
1. Melt butter in large pot over medium heat.
2. Add onion and garlic and sauté on low until tender, about 10 minutes.
3. Add broth, all squash and herbs and spices; bring to boil.
4. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until squash is very tender, about 20 minutes. *If you wanted to follow steps 1-3 and then throw everything into a slow cooker on high for 6 hours that works too. Just follow steps 5-6 when you get home.*
5. Working in batches, puree soup in blender.
6. Return soup to same pot. Stir in cream and sugar; bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

This recipe is DELICIOUS with a broiled bread. Put butter on one side of bread and broil for one minute. Flip bread over, cover with your favorite cheese and some salt and pepper and broil for another minute. Awesome!

Season 1: Market Day 6

Today is the first day of autumn and I am pretty sure it was the best first day of autumn I have had in my entire life! The sun was shining, the air was about 75 degrees, and the wind was blowing the warmest breezes. I think the melons and tomatoes felt the same way about the beautiful weather. They seemed to perk up a bit at the sun rays. Too bad this won't last for another week though!

Autumn on the farm

Luckily it looks like tomorrow will be about the same weather so the Market will be quite pleasant.

The Market only has 4 more weeks left (including tomorrow). Unfortunately, I don't think we will make it to the very end. Our melons will only be around for this weekend and maybe next. So yes, that means, get them tomorrow! The weather (as explained above) just won't finish ripening all the great summer vegetables/fruit. But, I suppose it is autumn now. Although, with summer's end and fall's beginning, you will see our first "winter" squash out tomorrow. Squash is so good in soups and stews. I promise to get you some recipes soon!

Anywho, without further ado, or rambling, here is what we will have this weekend:

- Melons – we sold out last week! (icebox watermelon, a few kinds of honeydew)

- Lettuce (buttercrunch heads and a lettuce mix with pansies)
- Tomatoes (great heirlooms!)
- Cherry Tomatoes (Sungolds and Green Doctors)
- Green Kale
- Potatoes
- Baby beets (with greens)
- Tomatillos
- Cucumbers
- Summer Squash
- Winter squash (spaghetti, buttercup, Pennsylvania dutch crookneck)

- Beans
- Green and Purple Peppers
- Eggplant
- Flower Bouquets (mostly dahlias)

-Emily 

Sautéed Green Beans with Vinegar Reduction

Sautéed Green Beans with Vinegar Reduction
makes 2 servings
Created by Emily Marrs

INGREDIENTS
- 1 Tbls Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 lb fresh green beans, stems removed
- 1 medium tomato or 2 small tomatoes cut into wedges
- 1 Tbls balsamic vinegar
- Salt and pepper

METHOD
1) Steam or boil the green beans in boiling water for about 6-10min or until soft.
2) While steaming, put a pinch of salt on sauté pan and begin heating. Once warm, add oil.
3) When oil is warm, add onion and garlic to sauté pan and stir until onion is soft, about 4 minutes.
4) Add dried thyme to pan. Let sit for one minute then stir to incorporate.
5) If beans are done, drain and set aside. If they are not done, let finish.
6) Add tomato to sauté pan, sauté for about 4 minutes until tomatoes wilt.
7) Add beans to pan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sauté for 3 minutes.
8) Add vinegar to pan and let sit for a couple minutes while it caramelizes with the veggies. After it sits and bubbles, stir to mix. Continue for a about 3 more minutes.
9) When the veggies are browned and the vinegar has all been boiled away, the dish it ready to eat. Season if desired.
10) Enjoy!

Season 1: Market Day 5

Wow, this week went by super fast. I barely had time to make new recipes and eat all of our awesome tomatoes and melons! But fear not, it is 9pm on Friday and I am here to tell you what we have this week...hoping that someone looks at this before the Market in 12 hours.

The new sign. Tyler made it!

Actually, first I would like to address this melon business. Yes, we do have "spray-free, no pesticides used" melons. Yes, we grew them. Yes, they are heirloom varieties that you can't find in stores. Yes, they have seeds in them. Yes, they are the best melons I have ever tasted. So, come on down and get a melon. We have a green-fleshed honeydew and a striped flesh honeydew. We have ice box (small) watermelons. The cantaloupe varieties are still not ready unfortunately.

FYI: Last week we did sell out of our melons so make sure you come grab them quick!

Here is the list of everything else we will have:
- Lettuce (buttercrunch heads and a lettuce mix)
- Tomatoes (great heirloom varieties!)
- Cherry Tomatoes (Sungolds and Green Doctors)
- Savoy Cabbage
- Green Kale
- Potatoes
- Carrots (thumbelina)
- Tomatillos (makes such great salsa!)
- Cucumbers
- Summer Squash
- Beans
- Green and Purple Peppers
- Eggplant
- Flower Bouquets (mostly dahlias)

See you soon! - Emily

Salsa Verde

I love me some salsa. This year I discovered salsa verde with tomatillos. It certainly is delicious. Sometimes you just have to switch things up from the regular red salsa to some great green, fresh salsa!

Tomatillo Salsa Verde
created by Emily Marrs

INGREDIENTS

10 tomatillos, husked, washed and quartered
½ medium onion dices
5 garlic cloves, peeled
1 jalapenos, roughly chopped
good handful of cilantro

Juice of 1/2 lime

Pinch of cumin

Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

If you have a food processor just throw everything in and puree until smooth. Season with salt if desired.

If you don't have a food processor, dice all ingredients until quite small and mix together in a bowl. Let sit for at least 15 minutes so all the flavors mix and mingle.

-Emily

Season 1: Market Day 4

Wow, today it was rough getting out of bed (before the sun had fully risen). Alas, I had to roll myself out to do some farming before leaving for my non-farm job. After getting up (and whining a bit), I threw on some sweats, grabbed some clippers and stumbled outside to pick the veggies for ya'll to eat.

Despite my whining, once I stepped outside I was cured of my sleeping sickness! It is so beautiful outside these days in Western Washington! I perked right up and realized I felt super comfortable in mid-September at 6:30am in a t-shirt. (Although, September is always nice in Washington, people just always forget that.) It is a good thing too, those tomatoes and melons really need some hot sun.

Anyway, what I am trying to say is I got up reluctently but was so glad that I did and I got to be outside while there were still no humming of cars and the birds were just waking up. So thanks all you Red Planet supporters, without you, I would probably still be in bed wasting away a great morning.

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

Okay, I will get on with the Market information though....
This week we should have:
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes (great heirloom varieties!)
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Cabbage
- Kale
- Beets
- Potatoes
- Carrots (thumbelina)
- Tomatillos (makes such great salsa!)
- Cucumbers
- Summer Squash
- Beans
- Flower Bouquets (mostly dahlias)

The melons still aren't 100% to our satisfaction so if we take some there won't be very many but hopefully all this great weather softens them up a bit more!

-Emily

Recipe for Day 3

I made this recipe last year and re-vamped it a bit this year. It is so full of flavor and deliciousness, I had to share it. I hope you enjoy!

Spaghetti with Creamy Vegetable Sauce (low fat version added)
created by Emily Marrs
makes 2 large servings or 3 single servings

*asterisk ingredients sold by Red Planet Farm Market Booth

INGREDIENTS
- 2 Tbls extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- ½ medium sized onion chopped
- ½ small zucchini* sliced
- ½ small summer squash* sliced

- 1 carrot* shredded (or 5 thumbelina carrots)
- 1 stem of rosemary*, leaves stripped and minced

- 2 tomatoes*
- 1 Tbls flour

- ½ cup cream (for a lower-fat choice, use whole milk instead of cream)

- ½ cup milk

- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese (for a lower-fat choice, omit the cheese from sauce and use only to top the spaghetti)

- salt and pepper

- ½ package of spaghetti

DIRECTIONS
1. Begin heating a large saute pan. Add a pinch of salt to the bottom of the pan. Begin heating your water for the spaghetti with some salt and oil in the water.
2. When saute pan is warm, add olive oil.
3. After about 20 seconds (before olive oil begins smoking), add garlic, onion, zucchini, and squash to pan.
4. Saute until onion is semi-soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. If your spaghetti water is boiling, go ahead and cook the spaghetti according to the package.
5. Add carrots and rosemary to saute pan. Saute for 4 minutes stirring occasionally.

6. While carrots are sauteing, roughly chop the tomatoes and add to food processor, mix until pureed. If you don't have a food processor, chop the tomatoes as much as possible. Set aside.
7. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Add flour to pan and stir to incorporate, mixture should be covered in flour.
9. Add cream and stir continuously until sauce begins to thicken a bit.
10. Add milk and stir continuously until sauce thickens.

11. Add pureed (or chopped) tomatoes and all its juice. Bring to a boil for 3 min or until the right consistency is met. Add more milk if sauce is too thick. Add flour (pre-stirred in another bowl with a bit of water, to prevent clumps) to thicken.
12. When the sauce is the right consistency, turn off the heat and add ¼ cup cheese, stir and let melt in pan.
13. When the spaghetti is cooked, drain and put on a plate. Add the sauce on top and sprinkle with the leftover cheese. Enjoy!

This recipe is great with oven-warmed bread too!

Season 1: Market Day 3

We are back and ready to go!

This week we will have:
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes (great heirloom varieties!)
- Cabbage
- Kale
- Beets
- Potatoes
- Carrots (thumbelina again and some bigger varieties)
- Tomatillos (makes such great salsa!)
- Peppers (green and purple)
- Cucumbers
- Summer Squash
- Zucchini
- Beans (purple variety, great to steam and cook with balsamic vinegar!)
- Fresh Rosemary and Oregano
- Flower Bouquets (mostly dahlias, my fav)

Mr Farmer in his tomato patch

We may have some melons too but we still need to make sure they are ready to go. The few we have taste tested so far are so delicious. If you ever get one, it will be the best melon you have tasted. Pinky promise.

And yes, I do have a great recipe for this week but it will be up later today. So check back later.