What Is Better Than Farm to Table Fresh Veggies & Herbs?

The question has been posed:  What is better than farm to table fresh veggies and herbs?  Simple.  Farm to table fresh veggies and herbs that someone else cooks for you!!

Today we made another delivery to Chef Renee at Renee's Real Food in Capitan (or for you Facebook folks: Renee's Real Food Facebook Page).  Thursdays is our only day available for deliveries to local restaurants.  It also conveniently coincides with "Pizza Thursday" at Renee's Real Food.  Our choice today was the 'Jamie,' a white sauce with black olives, proscuitto and artichoke hearts.  Then Chef Renee surprised all her guests with a complimentary Tiramisu.  I am glad I put away one piece of pizza to take home, or there would not have been room for such a delicious dessert.  Fabulous!

Fresh Green Bean Recipe

We have some very happy green bean plants.  Our harvester is back up and running (aka Dena), so more beans are picked and ready for you at the farm. (M, W, F 9am to 5pm)

I tried out a new fresh green bean recipe.  Once for just us and then a second time (with two pounds) for our weekly big family meal.  Have a look and see if it is for you.  If you do not care to use bacon grease or chicken stock, you could substitute with olive or coconut oil, and vegetable stock.  The key to this recipe is to reduce the sauce while making the beans tender, then using the remaining oils to caramelize the onions, garlic and sweet peppers.  One lesson I learned is to be ready to add more chicken stock as the beans cooked to make sure the beans were tender enough for my audience. This recipe comes courtesy of Pioneer Woman. 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb green beans
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper (I used yellow bell pepper)
• 2 tablespoons bacon grease (can substitute 1 T butter and 1 T olive oil)
• 1 cup chicken broth (I use "no salt added" broth)
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt (can substitute regular table salt; use 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon)
• Ground black pepper

Instructions:
Snap the stem ends of green beans, or cut them off in a big bunch with a knife if you like. Leave them long or cut to desired size. Melt bacon grease in a skillet over medium low heat. Add garlic and onions and cook for a minute. Then add green beans and cook for a minute until beans turn bright green. Add the chicken broth, chopped red pepper, salt, and black pepper. Turn heat to low and cover with a lid, leaving lid cracked to allow steam to escape. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes or until liquid evaporates and beans are fairly soft, yet still a bit crisp - or whatever is your preference. You can add more chicken broth during the cooking process, but don’t be afraid to let it all cook away so the onions and peppers can caramelize.


Just writing about it makes me want more...Enjoy!

By the way, we have a row of sweet bell peppers about to turn color!

Farm Hours Week of August 15

We are open at the farm this week Monday (8/15), Wednesday (8/17), and Friday (8/19) from 9 am to 5 pm.  The produce is packed up and taken to the Farmer's Market on Saturday.  We will do our best to keep these hours each week.

Vegetables ready: (while they last) green beans, beets (red and some golden), eggplant, zucchini and yellow crookneck squash, radishes, kale (Toscano and Blue Dwarf).  For herbs: basil, french tarragon and rosemary, some cilantro.

Other than squash, beans and tomatoes, we prefer to wait until you arrive to pull or pick the rest - giving you the most fresh veggies and herbs possible.  If you are short on time, please call ahead with your order.  We will do our best to get back to the messages and have your order ready (although sometimes we are all day in the field.)

See you soon!

Showing Off

Now and again, one of our plants can be a bit of a show-off. 

Obviously, we will have green beans and other fresh stuff at the Ruidoso Downs Farmer's Market on Saturday, August 13.  See you there!

Picking Today, 8/12

Here is our list of goods today.  We have SOME tomatoes. The farm is open from 9 am to 5 pm today; otherwise we shall see you Saturday at the Farmer's Market, Ruidoso Downs, All American Park.

Roasted Beets

Hey all.  Today I pulled some tubular beets to test out for our customers.  We roasted them tonight, along with a regular red beet, with olive oil and pepper at 450F for about 20 minutes.  Tasty!  The sacrifices we must make for our clientele...

Wednesday we are picking:  Red beets, green beans, tomatoes, green onions, Big Jim peppers (these five only while they last!), scarlet and Japanese radishes, zucchini and yellow crookneck squash.  We also have basil, chives and french tarragon ready to cut fresh for you. 

We are open Wednesday 9 am to 5 pm.  If our 'Fresh Produce' sign is out on Highway 37, we are open!

Hours this week

Our hours this week: Open at the farm Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. We are closed Tuesday and Thursday. Saturdays we are at the Farmer's & Artisan's Market at Ruidoso Downs.

Some items we pick in the morning.  Other items we count, but do not pick or pull until you arrive.  Our goal is to keep the produce as fresh for you as possible!  We thank you for your patience.