It’s been way too long since we posted here. We hope to get some good stuff up quite soon. In the meantime, have a peek – or a long leisurely look, really! – at late summer and early autumn here at Frog Bottom. Click on any photo to see it bigger, if you like.

Coming soon: Soup! A cookbook giveaway! Our plans for 2012! Thanks for your patience.

We’re still mad for summer vegetables, but these tiny beet seedlings in the greenhouse also have us daydreaming about early fall.

Let’s get right to it, shall we?

It’s a Can-a-Rama! The folks at Canning Across America hope you’ll keep the momentum from National Can-It-Forward Day going all week long with home canning parties.

Simple Bites has a slew of great posts on food preserving. Canning 101: The Basics is a great place to start.

We’ve been on a lacto-fermentation kick here in the Frog Bottom kitchen – lately, with vegetables.  Famous lacto-fermented foods include yogurt, sourdough, sauerkraut, and kimchi.  Lacto-fermented vegetables use a simple brine of water and salt (and sometimes whey) – no vinegar – to encourage good bacteria to preserve the food.  We may write more about this at some point, so for now I’ll just say I love how fast and easy this is! A few minutes chopping, a few minutes stuffing a jar, and then just a few days of waiting for all that good bacteria to do its work.  No giant pots of boiling water, no hours at the stove – the salsa you see below took me about 20 minutes to prepare, and that was mainly because of all the chopping.  Cucumber pickles and okra pickles each took under 10 minutes.  Read a bit more, and find the salsa recipe we used, at Lacto-Fermentation: an Easier, Healthier, and More Sustainable Way to Preserve.

Check out this fun infographic on home gardening!

Tired of pesto and Caprese salads? Wait — not possible.  But, we think you should try these basil cookies anyway.

Here are five awesome tomato soup recipes.  Make ‘em now or freeze some of the incredible tomato bounty and try them when the first fall chill creeps in.

(Did you know freezing tomatoes can be as simple as waiting until they’re dead ripe and then throwing them whole into a Ziploc bag and stashing them in the freezer? A quick blanching/peeling/seeding will make them a bit easier to work with come thawing time, but if you’re feeling overwhelmed, seriously, just throw them into the freezer whole.)

From the pen and kitchen of the ever-reliable Mark Bittman: 101 Simple Salads for the Season.  More fantastic and fast summer fare!

Umm, how fun does Lucky Peach look? It’s a new food journal published by the McSweeney’s folks. Have a look here.

And finally, we loved this essay about processing peaches and the way the long slog through a bushel of seconds can be a kind of meditation.

More to come later in the week! We’ve heard from a number of you that you need some help with okra, and with the mad bounty of eggplant, so that’s where we’ll start.

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Weekend Links is a regular feature here on the farm blog: a weekly(ish) list of articles, recipes, and other resources that have been inspiring and amusing us of late. A tasty smorgasbord for brain and belly!

Heather picks okra while some of the new chickens have a look.

Our fields and fridge are full of vegetables – and eggs! – and we’re feeling mighty inspired these days!  Just a taste of what we’ve been reading and cooking:

Did you know this coming Saturday, August 13, is the first annual National Can-It-Forward Day? The folks at Canning Across America, along with Jarden Home Brands (they’re the ones who make Ball jars and other canning products), are encouraging everyone to gather with family and friends at home canning parties to learn the basics of canning.  One of the coolest resources they’re offering is a day-long live stream of several how-to canning demos (mixed berry jam, kosher dills, tomatoes in their own juice, more!) happening at Seattle’s Pike Place Market.  See the live stream schedule and find the link here.

The August 2011 Bon Appétit had a fun article about an LA canning party. The recipes for dilly beans, pickled beets with star anise, tomato jam, and zucchini dill pickles are all on our list to try this summer!

And this recipe for onion jam has been tempting us for weeks.  Just onions, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, and butter!  I could do that today!  We think it would be especially delicious on pizza, topped with just about anything else that’s in season right now.

(We should point out the turn-the-jar-upside-down method of sealing is no longer recommended; we’ll probably just make one jar for the fridge and another for the freezer, but here are two good resources for safe canning guidelines.)

We’ve made this heavenly tomato & cheddar pie twice in as many weeks. It does require a little planning: the biscuit dough for the crust needs to chill for an hour, and the tomatoes need to drain for 30 minutes.  But otherwise it comes together quite easily.  And the crust is quite forgiving.  The second time we made it we didn’t use quite enough flour, and the dough seemed a sticky and hopeless mess as we eased it into the pie pan.  But it baked up beautifully, and didn’t get soggy even after a day in the fridge.   And seriously: tomatoes, mayonnaise, cheese, biscuit crust? Do we need to say more?  Make it! Any of the tomatoes you’ve been getting in your shares or at market will work great.

We haven’t tried it yet, but CSA members Yajaira and Domenick independently told us we also had to make this heirloom tomato pie.

And while we’re on the subject of tomatoes: how delicious does Tyler Florence’s Roasted Tomato Soup look?  Thanks to CSA member Tracy for this one.

We’re longtime fans of Mark Bittman.  We pull his How to Cook Everything down from the kitchen bookshelf at least weekly, often more.  The How to Cook Everything app is pretty great too!  For close to fifteen years he wrote a cooking column for the New York Times called The Minimalist.  We’ll admit to feeling a twinge of disappointment this winter when he decided to write less about cooking and more about food politics.  Certainly the systems of food production and distribution in this country are damaged, and we appreciate compelling writing from folks who can help us think about how we might begin to fix things.  But there are many people writing eloquently about these issues; fewer writers have Bittman’s skill for making home cooking seem simple, fun, and approachable.  So we were really delighted by one recent op-ed: “Make Food Choices Simple: Cook.”  In it, he argues we should cook more and eat out less – because it’s cheaper, because we have more control where the food comes from, and because it tastes better.  He writes:

When I cook, though, everything seems to go right. I shop an average of every two weeks in a supermarket, and make a couple of trips a week to smaller stores. I’m aware that my choices are mostly imperfect, but I rarely conclude that I should make a burger and fries for dinner or provide a pound per person of prison-raised pork served with fruit from 10,000 miles away, followed by a cake full of sugar and artificial ingredients. Yet, for the most part, that describes restaurant food.

Also fantastic?  ”101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less,” a Minimalist column from 2007.  Loaded with awesome ideas for no-fuss summer cooking.

Oh! We’ve posted our favorite ratatouille recipe before, but it bears reminding — early August is definitely ratatouille time in Central Virginia!

That does it for this week!  We’ll be back this weekend with more tasty links.  And we hope to post later this week about two delicious vegetables that we know can be intimidating: okra and eggplant.

We’ll wrap things up with some more recent images from the farm. (Click on any to see ‘em big!)

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Weekend Links is a (soon-to-be!) regular feature here on the farm blog: a weekly(ish) list of articles, recipes, and other resources that have been inspiring and amusing us of late. A tasty smorgasbord for brain and belly!

On days like this one, when our shirts are soaked through by 9am, it’s a real challenge to remember what it feels like to pull on socks, to see our breath in the morning air while we pick cabbage, to frost-proof the outdoor spigots before going to bed.

But it happens every year, and yesterday we started preparing. It was a long, hot, deeply satisfying afternoon: Ali and the crew filled thirty-two 300-foot rows with 2000 collard plants, 3000 kale plants, and 4000 broccoli plants.  As the sun dipped below the horizon we watered them well, to prepare them for today’s triple digits.  Tomorrow: 3000 cabbage plants.

We’ll do it all again in late August for generation two.

We’ll tend to them all with sweat and care, and we hope all these numbers translate into bountiful autumn CSA shares and market tables, with enough remaining for a possible winter CSA or winter market.

Ali often remarks that getting in a full planting is one of the most exciting things that happens on the farm. You start with long expanses of bare ground, a greenhouse full of seedlings, and a hefty dose of determination. You spend a whole bunch of hours moving back and forth, back and forth, planting, sweating, joking, planting, stopping for water, planting some more.  And then you slowly uncurl and stretch your back and shoulders and there it is in the setting sun: a field full of promise.

Just photos today. Back soon with some recipes and links!

“Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.” – Russell Baker

Ain’t that the truth?  Here at Frog Bottom as I’m writing this it’s 96°F, with a heat index of 108°F. While Ali, Joseph, Eric, Heather, and Claire tend to the irrigation, keep all the animals well watered, staff the CSA pickups, and daydream about swimming in the James River, Arlo and I are doing what we can to stay cool: lots of iced coffee (for mama), peach and basil smoothies (for both of us), picture books read while parked between two fans, splashing in a cool bathtub.

Perhaps the heat has addled our brains, because we’re also slow-roasting tomatoes.

I suppose it’s a stretch but I argue we can still call this a great activity for a sticky summer day, since, after all, slow-roasting doesn’t involve very much participation or even movement on your part.

Slow-roasted tomatoes are simple as can be: put your tomatoes on a cookie sheet or in a casserole dish.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle generously with salt.  Toss.  Roast in a low oven (about 225°F) for three or more hours, until nice and wrinkly.

We decided to slow-roast today because the tomatoes are in in a big way – more than we can eat even when we eat them three meals a day.  So we’re roasting them, and, if we don’t eat all four pans in one sitting, we’ll freeze as many as we can.  There’s little that lifts the spirits so well, in the deep dark icy depths of winter, than these little bursts of summer flavor.  (Well, maybe pesto as well – make some; it freezes great too!)

Slow-roasting is more method than recipe.  Play around!

For example:

Cook them in a hotter oven for less time, if you need to.  I prefer to roast them low and slow, because it really concentrates their sweetness without drying them out  — sometimes I even set the oven as low as it will go and slow-roast them overnight — but they’re quite delicious any way you do them.

These don’t need anything more than olive oil and salt, but those two ingredients can also anchor more complex flavors from additional herbs and spices.  Try chili pepper or cayenne.  Try them with fresh or dried thyme or rosemary or oregano.  Cumin is also very good!

Or try adding some balsamic vinegar too.  That gives them a lovely pungent sweetness.

Use bigger tomatoes, coarsely shopped, and seeded if you have the patience – or not.

Later in the summer, when our Roma or paste tomatoes are in, we’re mad for pomodori al forno – a dish of lightly herbed slow-roasted tomatoes that marinate in olive oil with parsley and garlic for a couple hours before you eat them with goat cheese and bread. It’s out of this world.

But for now, plain old slow-roasted cherry tomatoes will do.  They will most certainly do.

We love them straight out of the pan … tossed in a green salad or potato salad or pasta salad … stirred into a frittata before it bakes … alongside roasted eggplant and caramelized onions and tangy goat cheese as crostini toppings … on pizza.

There are lots of tomatoes in the CSA shares this week, and more are available at market.  Here are some more recipe ideas.  Tomato season comes but once a year.  It lasts awhile here in Virginia – tomato plants adore this heat! – but before you know it, it’ll be time for kabocha squash soup and kale chips.

How have you been eating your tomatoes this year?

It’s still technically the holiday weekend, right? We meant to post this yesterday, but we lingered at our friends’ potluck into the evening last night, popping cherry tomatoes into our mouths, watching toddlers chase cats and tackle dogs, and cutting just one more slice of peach pie.

But we do aim to make Weekend Links a regular feature here — a list of articles, recipes, and other fun stuff that’s been inspiring or amusing us lately.

Read on!

Mitch and Heather picking your basil!

First things first: it’s a Pie Party tomorrow! If you can, join the almost 1,400 (!!) people who are baking pies and posting their photos and experiences on Facebook, Twitter, or their blogs. This event evolved quite spontaneously during discussions on Facebook and Twitter but it took off like hotcakes.  Read more about it here – and make pie!

Are you intimidated by making pie dough? I feel more at ease in the kitchen than just about anywhere else, and yet until fairly recently I was scared of pie dough. I definitely allowed all the talk about cold butter and not overworking the dough to get in the way of delicious, homey pie.  But you know what?  It’s not so hard!  We’ve been using the pie dough recipe in this Orangette post – easy peasy!  And if you need to avoid gluten, try the recipe in the Pie Party post on Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef.  (Did you learn how to make pie from your grandmother, your dad, your next door neighbor?  We’d love it if you could share the recipe in the comments!)

I don’t have a great segue here – I do love pie – but I’m considering signing us up for the 30 Day Vegan summer session beginning August 15. This is a whole foods online workshop led by Heather of Beauty That Moves.  It’s for anyone interested in eating more vegetables and seeking a more balanced, centered approach to nourishment: vegans who feel they’ve been eating too many processed foods, people considering becoming vegan, or folks (like us) who aren’t vegan but who are looking for some inspiration and love the idea of getting some fresh perspective with a community of other eager eaters. The session costs $45 and includes access to a private blog, video cooking classes, loads of recipes, and one-on-one guidance from Heather if you need it.

Hey! Our farm was featured in an NPR story about cooking from a CSA share! Nicole Spiridakis’s “Oh the Things You Can Do With a Farm-Share Box” is one of the best things we’ve ever read on the challenges of learning to cook from what’s really in season.  She brings a spirit of adventure, ingenuity, and fortitude to her cooking – go get inspired!  I’m especially eager to try her Farm Egg Soufflé With Vegetables as soon as our new chickens start laying.

Here’s another great piece on making the most of a CSA share.  Author Kate McDonough shares several tips, including this shift in thinking: do your meal planning for the week after you pick up your share.

And here’s one more on cooking from a CSA share, from Meagan at The Happiest Mom. This one is really about coming up with a focused and mindful approach to summer eating.  Her Six-Meal Shuffle approach to menu planning is especially encouraging and I think we’re going to give it a try!

And a few fun links to round things out: How close to a train track can you set up a vegetable market? Have you tried an Eastside Fizz yet this summer?  And are you as excited as Guy Clark is about homegrown tomatoes?  I know we are!!

Happy Fourth of July, everyone! May there be lots of good food, fireworks, and lightning bugs in your (near) future.

Long golden days, these.

Here’s something delicious to do with a few of your many many cucumbers this week: tzatziki! It will wow your friends and family and your only regret will be that you didn’t make double the recipe. This stuff goes fast.

Tzatziki is a classic Greek appetizer made from strained yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, and herbs, and similar dishes are made all over the Middle East and Mediterranean.  It manages somehow to be both refreshing and substantial at the same time, which is exactly what I’m after these days.  Heavy braises and long slow roasts make me sweat just thinking of them – but these hot sticky early summer days are tiring, and a girl needs some fuel!  Enter tzatziki.

Here’s our version.

Our only caveat is that you need to plan ahead here.  The recipe is straightforward and easy, but you’ll need to strain your yogurt, and salt and drain your cucumbers.  And ideally you stick it in the fridge for a couple hours after you mix it up, to let the flavors blend.  So it’s not something you can whip up at the last minute for a potluck or to accompany a Sunday dinner outside by the grill – although it would be right at home in either of those settings!

Frog Bottom Farm Tzatziki

1 quart yogurt (preferably full fat with no added stabilizers or sweeteners – just cultured milk; or, substitute 2 1/2 cups Greek yogurt and skip the yogurt straining step)
2 large cucumbers (or 3 picklers), peeled, seeded, and chopped (instructions below)
1 tablespoon salt
juice of one lemon
one clove garlic, chopped
1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or mint or both
additional salt and pepper to taste

First, strain the yogurt. We use a nylon nut milk/sprouting bag like this, but you could also use coffee filters or cheesecloth. If using a nut milk bag, hang it into a large jar (a half gallon or one gallon jar works well) and secure with a rubber band.  If using coffee filters, line a colander or large strainer with two coffee filters and set the colander/strainer inside a large bowl.  Cheesecloth can be used either way. Carefully pour the yogurt in.  Whichever method you use, you want to leave room for the whey to drain out of the yogurt, so be sure the bottom of your bag or filter isn’t touching the liquid as it drains out.  Some whey will drain out immediately, but be patient; the longer you can wait, the creamier your tzatziki will be.  You could probably use the yogurt after 45 minutes or so, but wait about two hours if you can.  Or strain the yogurt the day before you make the tzatziki and store it in the fridge overnight. When we use a quart of Dannon All Natural Plain Yogurt, we end up with a little over two cups of thick strained yogurt and a little more than a cup and half of whey.  We’ll try straining our own yogurt later this summer, and anticipate the ratio of yogurt to whey will be a bit different.

(Don’t pour that whey down the sink! It’s full of good healthy stuff including lots of Lactobacilli, which are said to be good for gut health and general immune health. It will last for about forever in the fridge. You can add it to a smoothie, use it in place of water or other liquids in baked goods, use it as a starter culture for all kinds of lactofermented fruits and vegetables and beverages, use it in soaked grains like overnight oats … most recently we’ve been using it in a our daily almost-no-knead bread and in a pickle recipe, which we’ll share here soon.)

Next, prepare the cucumbers. This process takes about 45 minutes, largely unattended.  We pick our cucumbers quite young and of course never wax them, so we rarely peel or seed them for any recipes.  However, tzatziki really does benefit from cucumbers that have had a lot of the liquid removed.  First, peel the cucumbers.  Then seed them.  You can cut them in half lengthwise and run a spoon along the seeds, scooping them out.  Or quarter them lengthwise and use a small paring knife to cut out the seeds.  Next chop up the cucumbers and place them in a colander, place the colander in a large bowl, and sprinkle the cucumbers with about a tablespoon of salt.  Toss.  The salt will draw water of out of the cucumbers.  Let them drain for about half an hour.  Press to release any remaining water, and then pat them dry with a paper towel.

Now you’re ready to mix it all up! Put the strained yogurt in a large bowl.  In a food processor, blend the cucumbers, the lemon juice, the garlic, the herbs, and a few grinds of black pepper until well blended.  Add the cucumber mixture to the yogurt and stir to mix.  Taste to see if you need additional salt; we don’t find it necessary.

Tzatziki tastes best if you put it in the fridge for a couple hours to allow the flavors to meld. But we won’t tell anyone if you dig in right away.

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Serving ideas: Use tzatziki as a dip for vegetables like carrots or cucumbers.  Spread it on crackers or nice bread.  Use it as a spread in a sandwich with other summer vegetables.  Add it to falafel in a pita.  It’s also a great side dish or dipping sauce for meats and fish.

(Photo of the finished tzatziki coming soon! We ate our last batch so fast we didn’t get a photo.)

We’ve watered, planted, picked, noshed, tended, toured, tidied, milked, mowed … and not posted a whit of it here!  Here’s a peek, and we aim to get back to these weekly photo glimpses of farm life starting now.